# Tips for Beginners!



## BigGiver

If your looking to slim down and lose the gut and/or gain some lean muscle, here is some information you might want to know.

"A BEGINNER's GUIDE TO BODYBUILDING"

MYTHS

*SPOT REDUCTION*

NO SUCH THING!!! Doing a hundred crunches will strengthen the abs, but won't do anything to the fat. Only through hard work, cardio, and a healthy diet will you achieve this.

*HIGHER REPS = MORE DEFINITION AND "TONENESS"*

The truth is, higher reps will NOT tone your muscles or make them more defined. Once again, this is having a low body fat %. Higher reps will work on endurance though and is great for some athletes and marathon runners.

*GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT*

When we all start out lifting, we have this lucky gift of being able to lose fat yet get muscle at the same time. Over time, this completely goes away. I notice a lot of posts are "oh my goals are to lose the old gut while getting my chest bigger...". This isn't going to happen unless you are a beginner (a.k.a newbie) or on steroids. Think about it. How can you gain muscle on a calorie deficit and/or lose fat on a calorie surplus? Once you feel you gotten to the point where you can no longer do the above, then you have a choice of doing a cutting or bulking phase.

*THE MORE THE BETTER (RIGHT?)*

Ever hear the phase "muscle grow outside the gym". Well, this phase fits in right here. When people first start out lifting, they tend to think that more is better. This is definatly not the case. Your muscles and body needs time to recover. Also, around an hour or so (differs from everyone), cortical is released from the body which can actually kill off muscle tissue and cause muscle catabalism. This can be prevented if you train smart. Do no more then a 5 day split training each muscle once a week (smaller ones twice most) and working out no more then an hour. Now don't get me wrong, everybody is different and people respond to different methods, principals, techniques, etc. But this most likely all you need to do. Most people say "oh, I'm training each body part 2x a week and only have one rest day and getting good results" but what they don't realize is that they aren't giving their body (central nervous system) full time to recover as well as their muscles. Even though muscles only need 48-72 hours to recover, they still don't recover fully which is why it benefits you to take a week off every 2-3 months.

*I DO CARDIO FOR MY LEG WORK..THAT'S ALL I NEED*

The truth is, legs also need heavy anaerobic sets just like the upper body. Running is to aerobic to call it a leg "mass builder". Besides, the best exercise known to us bodybuilders is for legs (SQUATS!). By the way, chicken legs and a huge upper body will look very unproportianal and kind of weird.

*I DIDN'T GET A PUMP OR WAS SORE THIS MORNING...*

"Pumps" and soreness in your muscles doesn't mean too much (for hypertrophy [ muscle growth]). I could get a good pump from picking a weight and lifting it for 100x. This will porbably deal way more with endurance then hypertrophy. Samething goes with soreness. The real way you can tell if your workouts are good is over time.

CUTTING

Now lets say your goal is to look nice and thin and get rid of the old gut and get abs by the summer times Here you are going too need to start reducing your calories, increasing protein, decreasing saturated fats and carbs.

DIET

Some diets where people got good results from: Atkins diet, keto diet

Here are some estimations to help you figure out your calories and protein needs:

Calories: bodyweight x 11-13

Protein: bodyweight x 1.2-1.4

The key here is too keep saturated fats in moderation. Don't totally eliminate them from your diet. You still need some. Also, don't go overboard with decreasing the carbs (unless you are on keto which requires you too). Depending on your metabolism, try to split this into 4-6 smaller meals over the course of the day.

CARDIO

You are also going to have to start doing some cardio. Start out with one short cardio session. By starting out with a lot of cardio days, you are only hurting yourself and looking for an injury. Each week, start increasing it until you get around 20-45 minutes. You might also want to look into HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio. Don't let the time (12-15 minutes) of these cardio sessions fool you. The sessions are very intense.

WEIGHT TRIANING

Training splits should stay the same. Like I said before, reps shouldn't go higher. I prefer a 3 day split while cutting because it is easier to fit in cardio and easier to recover while under a calorie deficit.

SUPPLEMENTS

Some good supplements too look are: whey protein, multi vitamins, glutamine, and fat burners (WARNING: only take a fat burner if you are in good cardiovascular condition and have good blood pressure with no history of bad cardiovascular health).

TIPS

A way you can minimize muscle loss is not decreasing the calories all over night. Don't just decrease your calories all in a day. Your body has to get used to what it has. Slowly decrease your calories by 200-300 each week until you get to your desired calories, carbs, and saturated fats.

BULKING

How many people out there no matter how hard they try, can't gain any muscle? There are a few reasons why this is so. Are you over training? Are you eating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? Etc.

DIET

Most people have a good workout, but ignore there diet. Like I said before, you must be eating. Take a look at these estimations:

Calories: bodyweight x 19-20

Protein: same as cutting

Keep carbs high too around 300-450 gram range (depending on bodyweight). If you limit saturated fats and bulk cleanly, you will limit the time you need to cut and minimizing muscle loss. Try to eat this in a matter of 5-7 meals.

TIPS

If you are getting too fat (do not do this if you aren't gaining at all) throw in a cardio session or two during the week.

If you are having trouble eating during class, eat a big breakfast and keep things that can be sealed like powerbars, peanuts, mrb shakes/bars in your locker.

www.fitday.com and www.calorieking.com are both great links for nutritional breakdown of certain specific foods.

WEIGHT TRAINING

Here I would recommend a 4-5 day split. There are a ton out there. Anyone will pretty much work as long as you are eating & sleeping enough, and not overtraining. Most people respond best to the 8-10 and 6-8 rep range. Some people respond better to lower reps like the 4-6 and/or higher reps like the 10-12. Anything lower then 4 IMO, is for strength gains,

SUPPLEMENTS

Some good supplements to look into are: whey protein, multivitamins, creatine, bcaa, liver tabs, zma and L-glutamine.

THE WORKOUT

When working out, you want to try and stick with heavy compound movements.

Back- Deadlifts, rowing movements, chinning/pull-ups

Legs- Squats, stiff legged deadlifts, calf raises

Shoulders - Shoulder presses (standing/seated, Arnold, DB/BB,etc) ISOLATION: raises

Chest - Bench press, Dips, ISOLATION flyes and crossovers

Biceps - Close-grip chinups, ISOLATION curls

Triceps - Close-grip bench press, skull crushers, ISOLATION tricep pushdowns

Traps- shrugs, upward row

Abs- weighted & decline crunches, hanging leg raises, lying side bends and twist crunches (obliques)

Here are some good websites for videos on proper form and exercises:

http://www.2-fit.com/video/index.html

http://www.theministryoffitness.com/exercises.htm

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Have a protein shake (Whey protein shake) and some sort of simple sugar like honey and/or dextrose after your workouts.

I recommend every month or two changing up your split. This will avoid a plateu when you no longer can gain anything. You can do something simple like superset or totally rearrange your split. Some great things to do are: pyramid (both up and down are good), supersets (and all variations), forced reps, down the rack, negatives (warm up properly before this), drop sets, etc. Bump up your calorie intake, protein, and carbs as well.

and also...

GET MOTIVATED!

Originally posted by Sychokid here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...threadid=101841

Author Sychokid


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## hackskii

Wow, nice!

I love this, this is what I have read for years.

Very impressive, I like reading over the basics!

I like reading over the basics, hey I just said that. It is worth saying over again. 

Sweet bro.

Thanks


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## philipebrown

i hate the phrase "toned up" with a passion!!!


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## Jock

Very good post, can a mod make it a sticky?


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## Greyphantom

Excellent... Def make this one a sticky for a while... answers some common questions... I even copied and pasted it for my own private files... lol... nice one mate...


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## hackskii

Sticky it is!


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## Killerkeane

yeah, i have one of the best reads for a beginner though to gain weight, i'll give you the link, i am sure the guy that wrote it will not mind as it is beneficial to so many 

1. Mind-set

So often neglected by the beginner and yet the most important ingredient in success&#8230;. DESIRE. So many fail by seeing it as a short term goal to improve your physique. This will contribute to failure. Get it out of your head that you need to get in shape for your holiday in 8 weeks time. You should see it as a lifestyle. A way to live your life. "A bodybuilder is for life not just for Christmas"

Accept the condition your body is in and make the decision to change your life to achieve your objectives. Accept it is a long term plan and you will not be disheartened if it takes time to improve. Lets face it folks, if it was easy then everbody would be doing it.

Be realistic about your goals. A beginner should not be saying I want to lose 30Ibs of fat and gain 20Ibs of lean muscle in 2 months. It Just Won't happen, yet people time & again put this sort of image in their mind and become disheartened when it doesn't happen that fast. Time to wake up and forget the brainwashing from much of the health & fitness industry we have endured most of our lives to sell their latest fat loss or muscle growth gimmick.

Prepare yourself for hard work and sacrifice and you will see it as something you love and not as a chore. You will see it as something that distinguishes you from the masses who cannot be bothered or those who shoulder too much pride to seek advice. As soon as you see it as a chore you are on the path to failure.

2. Objective Setting

First of all assess your physique. Decide what you need to do most of all - Lose fat, build muscle. How fat you are, or how small your muscles are, will determine where your priorities are. I feel this is important so that you can set yourself some attainable targets. Remember&#8230;. For fat loss, the more muscle you have the more calories your body burns at rest and while exercising a Ib of muscle burns roughly 10x as many calories as a Ib of fat (approx 70 cals per hour compared to 7 cals per hour for fat).

Set some sensible targets e.g. to lose 10Ibs of fat in 5 weeks and gain 5 Ibs of lean muscle mass. Despite what we think, it is physically more difficult to build muscle than to lose fat. You can, though not advisable, lose 4 or 5 Ibs of fat in a week (as you are likely to lose muscle mass). You cannot build 5Ibs of lean muscle in a week.... live with that fact as It will not happen.

Setting some lifting targets as you become familiar with the exercises and your routine e.g adding 20kg to your bench press in a month, will help you gauge your progress.

3. Training - Weights

Your weights routine will be the bedrock of your lean muscle gains. To make consistant and long term gains you should make of point of having a structured weight routine from the start.

My first recommendation is to join a good gym. A gym that offers a comprehensive induction process, members of staff who know what they are doing. It should have a full range of free weights & equipment, lots of dumbells and plates (especially plenty of the heavy plates-20Kgs) for you to work your way up to the bigger weights. A good gym will be one where you feel comfortable.

It is very important that as a novice you are NOT INTIMIDATED by training alongside much more experienced bodybuilders. They won't bite you !!!! Most are very nice, helpful and normal people that are good fun and very helpful. They will not be looking down at you because you are new to the sport. We all were at some time! In fact use their experience to help show you how to do exercises correctly, etc as most of us just love the sound of our own voice and will not hesitate to help someone less experienced. Swallow that pride folks.

My preference is to start as you mean to go on and learn to use free-weights asap. They will allow a much more thorough workout of the muscles than machines due to the full range of natural motion you can achieve in the exercises and that they recruit many more fibres in the supporting muscles and working muscles than machines. More fibres recruited&#8230;.. More muscle gains you'll make.

GET YOUR FORM RIGHT!!!! This cannot be stressed enough. Poor form is rife amongst the MAJORITY of gym goers and will vastly hinder your progress. Do not sacrifice good form in ALL exercises for more weight just to feed your ego! Your muscles will develop MUCH quicker and you will have much less risk of injury if your form is good. If you cannot complete good form with the exercise then the weight is too heavy for you. It's that simple! Live with it! And work at getting stronger while having perfect form. Do not try and compete against the bloke next to you who is doing it wrong but lifting heavier. (in 6 months time he'll be the one that won't have grown much at all and you can leave him to wonder how you have put on so much mass.)

To see how any exercises are done correctly click here -

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=33049

Try and separate your workouts into splits - chest, biceps, triceps, back, traps, legs, calves, shoulders, abs. Train each group once a week and your body will have plenty of time to recover and rest. You grow when you rest.

A nice 4 day split that will not kill you is

- Chest/Triceps/Abs

- Back/Biceps

- Shoulders/Traps

- Legs/Calves

As a good rule aim for 9-12 sets (MAXIMUM) for Large Muscle groups (Chest/Back/Legs) followed by a smaller muscle group for 6-8 sets (MAXIMUM)(Biceps/Triceps/Shoulders/Abs/Calves). Go easy on the biceps as they are much smaller than the tricep so will probably respond better at the lower end of that set range. Forget about doing 50 sets of bicep curls for big arms! You'll overtrain them and they will not grow to their full potential.

Also as a good rule work at a weight that you can perform 6-8 reps with strict form with before you can't hold good form anymore. When 8x becomes comfortable then you can add a little more weight on. 6-8 reps is the best compromise between hypertrophy gains (muscle growth) & strength gains. Where you see "train to failure " - this means until you cannot do anymore reps at that weight with perfect form.

Here's an idea for a routine as an example which was my own routine based on gaining lean mass and shifting some bodyfat:

SATURDAY - Chest/Tri

5 Min warm-up

Dumbell Flat Bench - 4 sets 6-8 reps

Weighted Dips For Chest - 4 sets 6-8 reps (last set to failure)

Incline Dumbell Fly- 4 sets 6-8 reps (last set to failure)

Skull Crushers - 3 sets 6-8 reps (or close grip bench press)

overhead cable presses 3 sets 6-8 reps (last set to fail) (or close grip bench presses)

SUNDAY - Back/Bi

5 min warm-up

Deadlifts 4 sets 6-8 reps (last set to failure)

Bent Over One Arm Dumbell Rows 4 sets 6-8 reps

Lat pulldowns 3 sets 6-8 reps (last set to fail)

(I would prefer you to do chins instead though if you are strong enough to lift your bodyweight)

Barbell Bicep curl 3 sets 6-8 reps

One arm Dumbell Hammer curls 3 sets 6-8 reps

MONDAY

REST & Cardio (30 mins swimming before brekkie approx 40 lengths)

TUESDAY - Delts/traps

5 min warm-up

Seated Dumbell military press 3 sets 6-8 reps

Lateral dumbell raises (side) 3 sets 6-8 reps (last to fail)

Barbell Shrugs 5 sets 6-8 reps

WEDNESDAY

REST & Cardio (30 mins swimming b4 brekkie)

THURSDAY - Legs & Abs

5 min warm-up

Barbell Squats 4 sets 6-8 reps

Stiff Legged Dead Lifts 3 sets 6-8 reps

Calf Raises 4 sets 8-10 reps (last set to fail)

Weighted Swiss Ball crunches 4x sets 6-8 reps

hanging leg raises 4x sets 6-8 reps

Dumbell side bends 3x sets 6-8 reps

FRIDAY

REST & Cardio (30 mins swim b4 brekkie)

[sEE END OF POST FOR ALTERNATE ROUTINE TO CHANGE TO WHEN YOU HIT PLATEAU]

For some other routine ideas click here - http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=29461

4. Rest

This is very important. You should aim to give your muscles a week's rest for recovery and growth. Muscles grow while you rest. It is very easy to overtrain and when you do your body goes into catabolysis (where it starts using the body's protein source - muscle). This is not good. Many budding Bodybuilders overtrain and wonder why their biceps haven't grown in the last 6 months! (that is why I have listed the rep & set numbers like I have). It is very easy to overtrain, especially when you are very enthusiastic at the outset. To begin with you will most likely gain some muscle but not nearly as much as if you rested properly. No good doing 20x sets of bicep curls 3x a week. Your arms will not grow!

You should get a minimum of 8hrs sleep every night. You grow while you sleep. Less than 7hrs and you start to risk catabolysis of the muscles and lose those hard earned gains.

5. Training - Cardio

Important for fat loss & cardiovascular fitness. You should aim to do cardio on separate sessions from weights so that your muscle glycogen is used while weight training to fuel the muscles. DO NOT perform cardio before the weights sessions otherwise you reduce the potency of the weights session.

Fat loss cardio should be at 65% Max Heart Rate (MHR) for 30-40 mins and ideally before breakfast so that your body can tap into its fat stores for fuel immediately. Any more than this and at a higher intensity then your body will also utilise protein for fuel and lead to muscle loss (HIIT is the exception to this but we'll keep it simple for now). If time is a prob then if you have to do cardio in the same session as weights then do it AFTER the weights and for no more than 20 mins at 65% MHR. Always try to have a protein shake before cardio (even 1st thing in the morning).

Endurance cardio is done at higher intensity. Not great for bodybuilders as it is more catabolic but with protein taken before & after the session it should minimise catabolysis.

6. Diet

I'm gonna keep this real simple - EAT CLEAN, EAT BIG - Try and eat every 3hrs to keep protein flowing through your body to provide a positive nitrogen balance and to keep your metabolic rate high.

Muscle growth - High Protein, High Complex Carbohydrates, Moderate Fat (good fats - flax seed oil, rape seed oil, etc)

Fat Loss - High Protein, Lower Complex Carb, Lower Fat.

To lose fat you need to use more calories than you consume. To gain muscle you need to raise the calories to a higher level than you would utilise. This means a little fat gain but with some gentle adjusting you'll find where your level is at. Aim for 1.5g of protein per Ib bodyweight for gaining & fat loss. 200Ib person would need 300g protein in diet per day for bodybuilding.

Worth going to the diet forum for specific diet advice as this is a BIG area.

Also remember to get protein in you before you go to bed, when you wake up and immediately after weights. This is when your body needs it most.

7. Supplements

Food.

Good whey Protein supplement for post training & when you wake up.

That's it! As a beginner you are wasting money on all the muscle solutions, fat burners, etc that are out there as your body will change drastically with 6 months hard work. Once you have the basic platform then you can think about extra supplements. As for beginners thinking about steroids&#8230;. Forget it. They are for the serious & experienced Bodybuilder who has reached their natural limit. A get big quick solution may seem appealing to a novice but do not be tempted as you need to know what your body's limits are to use these effectively IMO.

Finally remember that bodybuilding is about getting a good balance between attitude/weight training/Rest/Cardio/Diet. If you neglect any of the areas I have mentioned so far then you are not fulfilling your natural potential.

Good luck and any questions you have feel free to post away&#8230;&#8230;

Likewise, if any of the experienced Bro's have anything to add (I'm sure there'll be plenty ) then please do so.

8) Wear Comfortable clothing!

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/bodybuilding-tshirt.asp

(This is a James Edit!)

--------------------------

Alternate Routine 1.

When you find that your strength & mass gains start to slow and you want to change the routine then you can try this one for size...

Chest/Shoulders/Tri

5 Min warm-up

Dumbell Incline Bench - 5 sets 5 reps (very low incline)

Weighted Dips For Chest - 5 sets 5 reps

Seated Dumbell military press 5 sets 5 reps

Skull Crushers - 5 sets 5 reps (or close grip bench press)

Back/Trap/Bi

5 min warm-up

Deadlifts 5 sets 5 reps

Wide Grip Chins 5 sets 5 reps

Bent Over Barbell Rows 3 sets 5 reps

Barbell Bicep curl 5 sets 5 reps (Strict Form!!!)

Incline seated dumbell curls 3 sets 5 reps (arguably this exercise can be cut out. Just listen to your body and decide how knackered your biceps are by this point)

Legs & Abs

5 min warm-up

Barbell Squats 5x sets 5 reps

Stiff Legged Dead Lifts 5 sets 5 reps

Calf Raises 5 sets 5 reps (last set to fail)

Weighted Swiss Ball crunches 4x sets 6-8 reps

lying leg raises 4x sets 6-8 reps (if you can do these resisted tyhen even better.)

Dumbell side bends 3x sets 6-8 reps

I've put a combination in that will work you hard. Start to push yourself hard on the weight and on the 5x5 exercises don't worry if you can only do 2 reps on your last set. It's better that you work harder on your early sets and keep the weight the same on your later sets but drop the rep numbers as your muscle tires, than to drop the weight. When you can actually hit 5 sets of 5 reps then it's time to add some more weight. Your strength should progress nicely.

bit long but brilliant!!!!!! Made by Cashman on www.muscletalk.co.uk


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## Sychokid

Hmm, wow that was a great article there, looks awfully familiar.

Thought it was something I wrote, then realized since there were no sources or references from where this came from, that it couldnt of been mine 

Did you write this BigGiver?


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## winger

Very nice reading.


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## Sychokid

I'm waiting BigGiver


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## Killerkeane

i personally think that article should have a permanant place on this board for beginners, as long as Cashman's name is at the end of it, and his efforts are rewarded then he will be fine with it. definetly best read i have had on gaining muscle mass.


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## Sychokid

Oh yeh, I forgot, I'm the guy who wrote this article Bigiver has posted, if anyone is wondering, it can be found here originally:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=101841

This guy didnt give me any credit, and changed around some of the words

Im glad you guys like it, Im fine with it being here, just without any citations from where this came from, people will claim its theres, etc

Take care everyone


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## winger

Sychokid said:


> Oh yeh, I forgot, I'm the guy who wrote this article Bigiver has posted, if anyone is wondering, it can be found here originally:
> 
> http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=101841
> 
> This guy didnt give me any credit, and changed around some of the words
> 
> Im glad you guys like it, Im fine with it being here, just without any citations from where this came from, people will claim its theres, etc
> 
> Take care everyone


That is one good article. I am very impressed. Sychokid, please stay with the board and give more informative posts. Welcome mate.

How did you find that post so fast?  That is not a flame and I dont want you to take it that way.


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## Sychokid

winger said:


> That is one good article. I am very impressed. Sychokid, please stay with the board and give more informative posts. Welcome mate.
> 
> How did you find that post so fast?  That is not a flame and I dont want you to take it that way.


Ill stay, no problem

a bit back, someone had stole my article and claimed it as theres, but it turned out good, the guy realized I found out about it, and deleted.

Every now and then I get paranoid and run a search on google and see what happens 

Take care


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## winger

Sychokid said:


> Ill stay, no problem
> 
> a bit back, someone had stole my article and claimed it as theres, but it turned out good, the guy realized I found out about it, and deleted.
> 
> Every now and then I get paranoid and run a search on google and see what happens
> 
> Take care


Cool I like the way you think. I like the way you have the ability to find your posts on other boards.

I am glad that he posted your info. It is the same stuff I have been saying for years. Wow I am even more impressed than ever.


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## Sychokid

winger said:


> Cool I like the way you think. I like the way you have the ability to find your posts on other boards.
> 
> I am glad that he posted your info. It is the same stuff I have been saying for years. Wow I am even more impressed than ever.


Thanks:cool:

Jon


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## winger

Sychokid said:


> Thanks
> 
> Jon


No thank-you


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## hackskii

It is fixed now.

Keep posting Sychokid.


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## Sychokid

hackskii said:


> It is fixed now.
> 
> Keep posting Sychokid.


Thanks

Jon:cool:


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## apatel4000

Killer Keane smashed it with that article. Good stuff and well written. Good and informative.


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## Guest

i have a tip for you, one that i wish i was told the start of my lifting career:

#1 NEVER, EVER, STOP SQUATTING!

anyone will go a long way heeding that advice.


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## googlepig

The original sticky says e.g: Protein: bodyweight x 1.2 etc - it doesnt say what body weight is measured in pounds or kilos. Just a heads up. Good post though!


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## trickymicky69

James.Titor said:


> i have a tip for you, one that i wish i was told the start of my lifting career:
> 
> #1 NEVER, EVER, STOP SQUATTING!
> 
> anyone will go a long way heeding that advice.


excellent advice james. it is the number one excercise for improving your physique. build the platforms of your physique and the rest will be childs play. i have said it before and i will say it again. isolation excecises should be secondary to any compound movements. all the guys in magazines do them cos they are massive already. do some isolation to put your mind at rest but do the big three primarily. if you do not grow you are doing the excecises incorrectly


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## OnePack

philipebrown said:


> i hate the phrase "toned up" with a passion!!!


yeah, what do people (mainly girls) mean when they say "I wanna get toned up"? or "I wanna be toned but not have muscles"?

Isn't being lean makes you show your muslces!!!


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## Killerkeane

this is such a brilliant thread for beginners. No1 reading.


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## Deano1

Killerkeane said:


> this is such a brilliant thread for beginners. No1 reading.


yer mate its is really really good!!


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## spangle

Just gone through this thread excellent read and good info


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## Peg

Killerkeane said:


> To see how any exercises are done correctly click here -
> 
> http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=33049


 The above link is not valid. They reworked their site.

Other than that it was a great read. Thank you very much.


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## mrmasive

Spot on


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## winger

This thread is 2 years and one day old...........lol.


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## basford

Great Thread.

really useful:lift:


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## starstrike

Thanks for the tips!


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## postie

Just read the article going to give the first routine a go .

cheers


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## winger

Sychokid said:


> Oh yeh, I forgot, I'm the guy who wrote this article Bigiver has posted, if anyone is wondering, it can be found here originally:
> 
> http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=101841
> 
> This guy didnt give me any credit, and changed around some of the words
> 
> Im glad you guys like it, Im fine with it being here, just without any citations from where this came from, people will claim its theres, etc
> 
> Take care everyone


Just giving credit were credit is due.

Very nice read again.


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## winger

Welcome to the board Postie and starstrike!


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## kurgan

Great info and ref!! answered a few q's i had!

thanks


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## rayvonn

thanks for that excellent guide I will keep reading this and follow this as closely as possible and hopefully ill still be going in a couple of years time with some serious size on:lift:


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## winger

rayvonn said:


> hopefully ill still be going in a couple of years time with some serious size on:lift:


You already have some serious size mate!


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## rebootuk

Hi, BigGiver. I love the beginners guide. I have only just started and what I read is really encouraging BUT.....there is one question that worry's me a LOT. I am 45yo in August. My question? AM I TOO OLD FOR ALL THIS??????? It really bothers me but I will accept the truth of the matter. Perhaps the others can give there thoughts on the matter. I await with anticipation.

KK


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## winger

rebootuk said:


> Hi, BigGiver. I love the beginners guide. I have only just started and what I read is really encouraging BUT.....there is one question that worry's me a LOT. I am 45yo in August. My question? AM I TOO OLD FOR ALL THIS??????? It really bothers me but I will accept the truth of the matter. Perhaps the others can give there thoughts on the matter. I await with anticipation.
> 
> KK


No you are not. I will be 47 in September and I am the strongest I have ever been.

Us old guys still have to train hard but we dont have to do as many sets and we dont have to train as often to get the same results.

If you train smart, you will make constant gains and do well.

Just dont over train, cause it is easy for us old guys...........


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## Tatyana

rebootuk said:


> Hi, BigGiver. I love the beginners guide. I have only just started and what I read is really encouraging BUT.....there is one question that worry's me a LOT. I am 45yo in August. My question? AM I TOO OLD FOR ALL THIS??????? It really bothers me but I will accept the truth of the matter. Perhaps the others can give there thoughts on the matter. I await with anticipation.
> 
> KK


NO never too old and resistance exercise is being introduced for the elderly as a way to prevent falls (which often result in breaks!)

x

x

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T


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## rebootuk

Glad to hear that, Makes me feel a lot better. I was put of by my x-brother-in-law many years ago when I used to work out a lot. He was stacking roids at the time and nothing I did then seem to match him (wounder why). So I gave up and left it all and wishing now I didn't. Might of had the body I wanted now, still, know different now Don't I. So I'm back and hopefully I can get a good body as well.

KK


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## winger

It is all about your personal gains mate. If you compare yourself with others you will always fall short, or get different friends.........lol. 

One day at a time mate!

Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was Arnold.


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## Captain Hero

rebootuk said:


> Glad to hear that, Makes me feel a lot better. I was put of by my x-brother-in-law many years ago when I used to work out a lot. He was stacking roids at the time and nothing I did then seem to match him (wounder why). So I gave up and left it all and wishing now I didn't. Might of had the body I wanted now, still, know different now Don't I. So I'm back and hopefully I can get a good body as well.
> 
> KK


aye as Wingy said compare yourself to yourself mate not to others


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## Tatyana

*MUSCLE MEDIA 2000 EXPOSES *

*
30 OF BODYBUILDING'S BIGGEST LIES *

*
THAT STAND BETWEEN YOU AND SUCCESS! *

*
By T.C. Luoma and Bill Phillips.*

*
*

*
**1* -- You can get as big as a pro bodybuilder...

*2* -- In order to get really big...

*3* -- If you eat a low-fat diet...

*4* -- The more you work out, the more you'll grow.

*5* -- The longer you work out, the better.

*6 *-- You don't have to be strong to be big

*7* -- The training programmes that work best...

*8* -- You can't build muscle...

*9* -- You can't grow if...

*10* -- You can't make gains if...

*11* -- You should only rest 45 seconds in between sets.

*12* -- You have to use fancy weightlifting equipment...

*13* -- Weight training makes you big; aerobic exercise cuts you up.

*14* -- You can completely reshape a muscle...

*15* -- If you get a pump...

*16* -- If you do hundreds of sit-ups a day...

*17* -- Training like a powerlifter...

*18* -- High repetitions make your muscles harder and more cut up.

*19 *-- Instinctive training is the best way to promote gains. 

*20* -- Women need to train differently than men.

*21* -- There are food supplements available that...

*22* -- Professional bodybuilders represent the epitome of health and fitness. 

*23* -- Training with weights causes...

*24* -- Loading up on carbohydrates...

*25* -- Consuming foods high in sugar...

*26* -- All anabolic steroids are extremely toxic and dangerous.

*27* -- If you stop working out, your muscle will turn into fat. 

*28* -- Ingesting MCT...

*29* -- If everyone took the same amount of steroids...

*30* -- Someone with a well-built body must be knowledgeable about fitness and physique development.

*1* -- You can get as big as a pro bodybuilder. without taking steroids; it just takes longer.

Despite what many of the magazines say, all professional bodybuilders use either steroids or steroids in combination with other growth-enhancing drugs. Without manipulating hormones, it just isn't possible to get that degree of muscularity, the paper-thin skin, and the continuing ability to pack on mass, despite sometimes having poor workout habits and relative ignorance of the principles involved that many pro bodybuilders have. Many supplement distributors, in order to sell their products, would have you believe otherwise.

Still, that's no reason to give up. By using state-of-the-art training principles, consuming a nutrient-rich diet, and by getting proper amounts of rest, almost every person can make incredible changes in his or her physique. The competitive bodybuilder circuit may not be in your future, but building the kind of physique that gains you respect is certainly achievable, as are self-respect and robust health.

*2* -- In order to get really big, you have to eat a super-high-calorie diet.

Well, that's true; you'll get really big if you eat a super high-calorie diet, but you'll look like the Michelin Man's fraternal twin. However, if you want to get big, lean-tissue wise, then super-high-calorie diets are probably not for you unless you are one of those very few people with metabolicrates so fast you can burn off these calories instead of depositing them as fat. Unfortunately, studies show that, in most people, about 65% of the new tissue gains brought about by high-calorie diets consists of fat! Of the remaining 35%, approximately 15% consists of increased intracellular fluid volume, leaving a very modest percentage attributable to increased lean muscle mass.

According to Dr Scott Connelly (MM2K, Spring 1992, p. 21), only about 20% to 25% of increased muscle growth stems from increased protein synthesis. The rest of the muscle growth is directly attributable to increased proliferation of the satellite cells in the basal lamina of muscle tissue, and dietary energy (calories) is not a key factor in the differentiation of these cells into new myofibres (muscle cells).

Of all factors determining muscle growth, prevention of protein breakdown (anti-catabolism) seems to be the most relevant, but adding adipose [fat] tissue through constant overfeeding can actually increase muscle pro- teolysis (breakdown). Furthermore, additional adipose mass can radically alter hormone balances which are responsible for controlling protein breakdown in muscle. Insulin balance, for one, which partially controls anti-catabolism in the body, is impaired by consistent overfeeding. So much for the eat-big-to-get-big philosophy!

Stay away from the super-high calorie diets unless you're a genetic freak, or you're woefully lean and don't mind putting on fat [or you're using appropriate pharmaceutical supplements].

*3* -- If you eat a low-fat diet, it doesn't matter how many calories you take in, you won't gain any fat.

The bottom line is, if you exceed your energy requirements, you'll gradually get fatter and fatter. It's true that eating a diet rich in fat will pack on the pounds quicker for a variety of reasons, the most significant being that a gram of fat has nine calories as opposed to the four calories per gram that carbohydrates and proteins carry. Fat is also metabolized differently in the body. It takes a lesser amount of calories to assimilate the energy in ingested fat than it does to assimilate an equal (weight wise) amount of carbohydrates. Consequently, more fat calories get stored than carbohydrate calories. However, the gross intake of carbohydrates, as facilitated by many of the weight-gain powders, will make you fat very quickly.

*4* -- The more you work out, the more you'll grow.

No, no no. This is one of the most damaging myths that ever reared its ugly head. 95% of the pros will tell you that the biggest bodybuilding mistake they ever made was to over-train--and this happened even when they were taking steroids. Imagine how easy it is for the natural athlete to overtrain! When you train your muscles too often for them to heal, the end-result is zero growth and perhaps even losses. Working out every day, if you're truly using the proper amount of intensity, will lead to gross overtraining. A body part, worked properly, ie. worked to complete, total muscular failure that recruited as many muscle fibers as physiologically possible, can take 5-10 days to heal.

To take it a step further, even working a different body part in the next few days might constitute overtraining. If you truly work your quads to absolute fiber-tearing failure, doing another power workout the next day that entails heavy bench-presses or deadlifts is going to, in all probability, inhibit gains. After a serious leg workout, your whole system mobilizes to heal and recover from the blow you've dealt it. How, then, can the body be expected to heal from an equally brutal workout the next day? It can't, at least not without using some drugs to help deal with the catabolic processes going on in your body [and even they're usually not enough .]

Learn to accept rest as a valuable part of your workout. You should probably spend as many days out of the gym as you do in it.

*5* -- The longer you work out, the better.

It just isn't necessary to do 20-30 sets for a body part, or even 10 sets like many 'experts' would have you believe. In fact, research has shown that it's possible to completely fatigue a muscle in one set, provided that that set taxes a muscle completely, ie. incorporates as many muscle fibers as possible and takes them to the point of ischemic rigour where, rather than contract and relax, the muscle fibers freeze up, sort of like a microscopic version of rigor mortis. Any further contraction causes microscopic tearing. Hypertrophy is just one adaption to this kind of stress and it's naturally the kind most bodybuilders are interested in.

This kind of intensity can usually be achieved by doing drop or break-down sets where you rep out, lower the weight, and continue doing reps until you either can't do another rep or you've run out of weight. It can also be achieved by doing your maximum number of reps on a particular exercise: by a combination of will, tenacity, and short rest periods, you complete ten more reps. You achieve the short rest periods by locking out the weight-bearing joint in question without putting the weight down. In other words, completely surpass your normal pain and energy thresholds.

If you can truly work your muscle to the point described, it will afford you little, if any, benefit to do another set (Westcott, 1986). The exception would be the body parts that are so big that they have distinct geographical areas, like the back, which obviously has an upper, middle and lower part. The chest might also fall into this category, as it has a distinct upper and lower part, each with different insertion points.

*6 *-- You don't have to be strong to be big

For a variety of reasons, people, even those with an equal amount of muscle mass, vary in strength enormously. It might have something to do with fast-twitch/slow-twitch muscle ratios, or it might have something to do with the efficiency of nerve pathways or even limb length and the resultant torque. But it is still a relative term. To get bigger muscles, you have to lift heavier weight, and you, not the guy next door, have to become stronger -- stronger than you were. Increasing muscle strength in the natural athlete, except in a very few, rare instances, requires that the tension applied to muscle fibers be high. If the tension applied to muscle fibers are light, maximal growth will not occur (Lieber, 1992).

*7* -- The training programmes that work best for pro bodybuilders are best for everyone.

You see it happen every day in gyms across the country. Some bodybuilding neophyte will walk up to a guy who looks like he's an escaped attraction from Jurassic Park and ask him how he trains. The biggest guy in the gym likely got that way from either taking a tremendous amount of drugs and/or by being genetically pre-dispositioned to get big. Follow a horse home and you'll find horse parents. The guy in your gym who is best bodybuilder is the guy who has made the most progress and done the most to his physique using natural techniques. He may still be a pencil neck, but he may have put on 40 pounds [19kg] of lean body mass to get where he is, and that, in all probability, took some know-how. That person probably doesn't overtrain, keeps his sets down to a minimum, and uses great form and concentration on the eccentric (negative) portion of each exercise repetition.

Many pros spend hours and hours doing innumerable sets--so many it would far surpass the average person's recuperative abilities. If average people followed the routines of average pro bodybuilders, they would, in effect, start to whittle down what muscle mass they did have or, at best, make only a tiny bit of progress after a couple of years.

*8* -- You can't build muscle on a sub-maintenance calorie intake diet.

It may be a little harder, and it may require a little bit more know-how and a little bit more conscientious effort, but it can be done. The fact is, the obese state in humans and animals is not universally correlated with absolute levels of caloric intake and neither is the accrual of lean body mass. The ability to realize changes in lean/fat ratios is regulated by components of the automatic nervous system working in concert with several endocrine hormones; this is called nutrient partitioning. For example, certain beta-agonist drugs like Clenbuterol increase meat production in cattle over 30% while simultaneously diminishing bodyfat without increasing the amount or composition of their feed. Other drugs, including growth hormone, certain oestrogens, cortisol, ephedrine, and IGF-1 are all examples of re-partitioning agents. All increase oxygen consumption at the expense of fat storage--independent of energy intake!

Drugs are not the only way to do this, however. It's true that a significant component of this mechanism is genetically linked, but specific nutrients, in specific amounts, when combined with an effective training programme, can markedly improve the lean/fat ratio of adult humans. MET-Rx is one such nutrient re-partitioning agent, and several companies are trying to duplicate its successes *[warning: one of the authors of this article has a significant financial stake in Substrate Technologies, the makers of MET-Rx].*

*9* -- You can't grow if you only work each body part once a week.

If you work out -- work out intensely-- then it can take 5-10 days for the muscles to heal. Although the following should be taken with a grain of salt when determining your own exercise frequency, a study in the May 1993 issue of the Journal of Physiology revealed it can take weeks for muscles to recuperate from an intense workout. The study involved a group of men and women who had worked their forearms to the max. All of the subjects said they were sore two days after exercising, and the soreness was gone by the seventh day, and the swelling was gone by the ninth day. After six weeks, the subjects had only gained back half the strength they had before the original exercise! By no means are we advocating that you wait two months between workouts, but we are trying to prove the point that it takes muscles longer to heal than what you might have previously thought. For some people, especially natural bodybuilders, waiting a week between body part workouts might be just what the doctor ordered for size and strength gains!

*10* -- You can't make gains if. you only train with weights three days a week.

Although you probably couldn't find a single steroid-assisted athlete who trains only three days a week [well, I was, and I made fantastic gains!], there's absolutely no reason why a three-day-a-week routine couldn't work for many natural athletes. As long as your routine attacked the whole body and you worked to failure on each set, you could easily experience great gains on this sort of routine. However, you need to pay even more attention to your diet if you only train three days a week, especially if your job involves little or no physical activity, and you like to spend your idle time eating. Ignore those who say three-day-a-week bodybuilders are only 'recreational lifters'. Think quality and not quantity.

*11* -- You should only rest 45 seconds in between sets.

That's true if you're trying to improve cardiovascular health or lose some bodyfat. But in order to build muscle, you need to allow enough time for the muscle to recuperate fully (ie. let the lactic acid buildup in your muscles dissipate and ATP levels build back up). In order to make muscles grow, you have to lift the heaviest weight possible, thereby allowing the maximum number of muscle fibers to be recruited. If the amount of weight you lift is being limited by the amount of lactic acid left over from the previous set, you're only testing your ability to battle the effects of lactic acid. In other words, you're trying to swim across a pool while wearing concrete overshoes. When training heavy, take [at least!] two and three minutes between your sets. Notice I said, "when training heavy." The truth is, you can't train heavy all the time. Periodization calls for cycling heavy workouts with less intense training sessions in an effort to keep the body from becoming overtrained. (See 'Periodization' by Brad Jeffreys on p. 85 of the Feb/March 1993 issue of MM2K)

*12* -- You have to use fancy weightlifting equipment in order to make the best gains.

Futuristic-looking, complex machinery designed to give your muscles the 'ultimate workout' is typically less effective than good-old barbells and dumbbells. Using simple free weights (barbells and dumbbells) on basic multi-joint exercises, like the squat, bench press, shoulder press, and deadlift, is still the most effective means of resistance exercise ever invented. Scientific research has shown that many exercise machines lack the proper eccentric component of an exercise that's necessary to stimulate muscle tissue to remodel (grow). (See the article titled 'Research Confirms that Bodybuilders Should Pay Heavy Attention to Negative Reps' by Bill Phillips on p.18 of the Feb/March issue of MM2K)

*13* -- Weight training makes you big; aerobic exercise cuts you up.

Manipulations in your nutrient intake are the main factor in getting cut up, and how you do it doesn't matter. If your daily caloric expenditure exceeds your daily caloric intake on a consistent basis, you will lose fat and get more cut.

Aerobic exercise is generally meant to improve cardiovascular efficiency, but if you do it long enough, you will burn up calories and in the long run drop the fat. However, weightlifting can do the same thing, only better. Studies have shown that the body burns far more efficiently if exercise is performed at a moderate pace for periods longer than 20 minutes. (It generally takes that long for the glucose in the bloodstream to be 'burned up', causing the body to dip into glycogen reserves for its energy) Once the glycogen reserves are used up, the body must metabolize fatty acids for energy. That equate to lost bodyfat.

In the long run, bodybuilding is more efficient than aerobics for burning up calories. Let me explain--if researchers were to undertake a study of twins whereby one twin performed daily aerobics and the other practiced a bodybuilding programme where the end result was increased lean body mass, the bodybuilding twin would ultimately be a more efficient fat burner than his aerobic twin. Why? Well, by adding lean body mass, that person's metabolic requirements are higher--muscle uses energy even while it is not being used. The aerobic twin might use more calories during the time period of exercise itself, but the weight-lifting twin would use a higher amount during rest time, leading to a higher net 24-hour expenditure. The weight lifter burns fat just sitting there.

*14* -- You can completely reshape a muscle by doing isolation exercises.

You can't limit growth to only one area of a muscle. Larry Scott, for whom the 'biceps peaking' Scott curl was named, had tremendous biceps, but he didn't have much of a peak. The shape of your biceps, or for that matter, any muscle, is determined by your genetic makeup. When you work a muscle, any muscle, it works on the all-or-nothing principle, meaning that each muscle fiber recruited to do a lift -- along the entire length of that muscle -- is contracted fully. Why would a certain number of them, like the ones in the middle of the biceps, suddenly start to grow differently or at a faster rate than its partners? If anything, the muscles that are closest to the insertion points are the most prone to mechanical stress, and you don't see them get any bigger than the rest of the muscle. If they did, everyone would have proportions like Popeye.

This is true of any muscle, but you're probably thinking, what about quads? I know that when I do hack squats with my feet together, it tends to give me more sweep in my legs. Sure it does, but the quadriceps are made up of four different main muscles, and doing hacks with your feet together forces the vastus lateralis muscles on the outside of the leg to work harder; consequently, they grow proportionately along their entire length and give the outer quads more sweep.

As further evidence, take a look at a picture of any young professional bodybuilder before he was developed enough to become a pro. He will have virtually the same structural lines as he does today. All that has changed is that his muscles are now bigger.

*15* -- If you get a pump , you're working the muscles adequately to ensure muscular hypertrophy, or if your muscles are burning, that means you are promoting muscle growth.

A pump, despite what Arnold Schwarzenegger said about it "feeling better than coming", is nothing more than the muscle becoming engorged with blood from capillary action. It can be achieved easily by curling a soup can fifty times. It by no means equates to the muscular intensity needed to promote growth. The same is true of the coveted 'burn' that Hollywood muscleheads advise the public to 'go for'. A burn is simply an accumulation of lactic acid, a by-product of chemical respiration. You can get a burn by peddling a bicycle or simply extending your arm straight out and moving it in tiny circles [or sitting in a burning fireplace!]. It does not necessarily mean you are promoting muscle growth. For hypertrophy to occur, you have to subject the muscles to high levels of tension, and high tension levels are best induced by heavy weights.

*16* -- If you do hundreds of sit-ups a day, you will eventually achieve a narrow, washboard-type midsection.

There is no such thing as spot-reduction. Doing thousands and thousands of sit-ups will give you tight abdominal muscles, but they will do nothing to rid your midsection of fat. Thigh adductor and abductor movements will give women's thighs more firmness, but they will do nothing to rid the area of fat, or what is commonly [and erroneously] called cellulite. Nothing will rid the body of fat, unless it is a carefully-orchestrated reduction in your daily energy intake; in other words, if you burn more calories than you ingest (or do that in conjunction with a nutrient partitioning agent. See #8)

*17* -- Training like a powerlifter --deadlifts, heavy squats, bench presses--will make your physique look blocky.

Blockiness, like baldness or a flat chest, is a genetic trait. If you were born blocky, then powerlifting will simply make you a bigger blocky person. The only way to offset a blocky appearance is to give special emphasis to the lats, the outer muscles of the thighs, and to a fat-reducing diet which will keep the midsection as narrow as possible. With these modifications, you will give your body the illusion of a more "aerodynamic" appearance. The truth is, powerlifting exercises are excellent for bodybuilding.

*18* -- High repetitions make your muscles harder and more cut up.

Although there is some evidence to suggest that high repetitions might induce some extra capillary intrusion into a muscle, they will do nothing to make the muscle harder or more cut up. If a completely sedentary person began weightlifting, using either low reps or high reps, he or she would experience a rapid increase in tonus, the degree of muscular contraction that the muscle maintains even when that muscle is relaxed, but that would happen regardless of rep range. The only way that high repetitions would make a muscle more cut up is if, by doing a higher number of reps, your body as a whole was in negative energy balance, and you were burning more calories than you were ingesting. The truth is, heavy weights, lifted for 5-8 reps per set, can build rock-hard muscles. You just have to get the fat off them to see how "hard" they are.

*19 *-- Instinctive training is the best way to promote gains.

If bodybuilders followed their instincts, they'd go home and pop open a Bud [much prefer Toohey's Red myself!]. Instinctive training is a wonderful catch-phrase, and it might even work for drug-assisted athletes since the very act of opening up a Bud would probably induce muscular growth in them. However, in a natural bodybuilder, the approach to long-term, consistent gains in muscular mass has to be, shall we say, a bit more scientific. Research results conducted by exercise physiologists recommend a systematic approach such as the one encompassed by periodization where the bodybuilder, through a period of several weeks, lifts ever-increasing pre-set percentages of a one-rep lift. This heavy period is also periodically staggered with a lighter training phase 'cycle'. Ultimately, the percentages increase, the maximum one-rep lifts increase, and lean body mass increases. There is nothing instinctive about it.

*20* -- Women need to train differently than men.

On a microscopic level, there is virtually no difference between the muscle tissue of men and the muscle tissue of women. Men and women have different levels of the same hormones, and that's what is responsible for the difference in the amount of muscle a man can typically put on and the amount of muscle a woman can typically gain. There is absolutely no reason why either should train differently than the other sex, provided they have the same goals. The only difference in training might be as a result of cultural, sexual preferences. A woman might desire to develop her glutes a little more so she looks better in a pair of 'Guess' jeans. Conversely, a man might want to build his lats a little more so that he fits the cultural stereotype of a virile man.

*21* -- There are food supplements available that are just as effective as steroids, yet safer.

The only things as effective as steroids are other steroids. Despite the proclamations of some supplement distributors, usually in giant, 35-point type, no currently available supplement works like steroids. However, nutrients and supplements can be extremely effective, especially if your diet is lacking in some critical component or you're genetically predisposed to accept that nutrient or supplement. Biochemically, individuals vary enormously, and the interaction of genetics, coupled with the widely varying diets that each of us eats, makes it virtually impossible to gauge just what will work for one individual and what won't. That is why some supplements work better than others for some people, just as some people are genetically predispositioned to accept steroids more readily than others. Food supplements do have benefits that can't be overlooked -- they're generally safe, and they won't get you thrown into jail. But none of them build muscle as fast or as well as steroids.

*22* -- Professional bodybuilders represent the epitome of health and fitness.

The ultimate irony is that the IFBB is facing in trying to get bodybuilders into the Olympics is that while every athlete in every other sport is presumably the healthiest they've ever been so that they are able to compete athletically and break records, the bodybuilder is so weak on competition day that he or she would have trouble fending off the attacks of an enraged toy poodle. The weeks of constant dieting, workouts that continually tax the body almost beyond recovery, and a constant influx of potentially harmful drugs and diuretics have brought most of them to total exhaustion.

And think about the huge amounts of food some steroid-using bodybuilders eat. In all the longevity sites in the world where people routinely live to be one hundred, the only common denominator is that they all either under-eat or eat just enough to meet their daily caloric requirements. By ingesting less food, they ingest less harmful chemicals, and fewer free radicals are formed in the body. The average professional builder probably eats at least four or five times what these aforementioned people eat. As a result, bodybuilders often suffer from high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Plus, with all that extra mass, the heart has to work that much harder and will probably stop beating years before it was designed to. That's why professional bodybuilding is the ultimate act of vanity. It was done strictly to fulfill some misguided notion of the superhuman ideal, and health was not even a consideration. Almost without exception, these guys and gals are not healthy, and they'll probably be among the first to tell you so. However, weight-training and consuming a nutrient-rich diet is very healthy, as long as it is not carried to extremes.

*23* -- Training with weights causes your muscles to get tight and hinders flexibility and, consequently, athletic performance.

If anything, when done properly (slowly and using a complete range of motion), weight training increases flexibility. Many athletes now engage in weight training in order to improve their performance in their chosen sport -- witness Evander Hollyfield or any number of track athletes, basketball players, or gymnasts; the list goes on and on.

This lie goes all the way back to the 1930s. Companies that were selling isometric exercise programmes by mail were trying to convince people _not_ to exercise with barbells, simply because it wasn't practical to send weights through the mail. So they made up the 'muscle-bound' lie.

This lie might have been fueled from the feeling of 'tightness' that accompanies an intense workout. If the workout was intense and a sufficient number of muscle fibers were recruited and microscopically damaged, then even the normal tonus (the normal amount of contraction experienced by a relaxed muscle) is more than enough to cause a feeling of pain and tightness. The tightness is compounded by the 'tugging' of the tendons on the muscles. Stretching, however, would do much to alleviate this tightness, and stretching is a recommended part of any athletic pursuit.

The only possible confirmation of this lie concerns a baseball pitcher's arm. An intense weight training programme might affect a pitcher's ability to throw a fast ball, but it wouldn't be because of a lack of flexibility. The speed a pitcher can generate seems to be determined more by a complex relationship of tendon length and strength and nervous system efficiency as opposed to muscular strength, and weight training could, possibly, upset this delicate balance.

*24* -- Loading up on carbohydrates is an excellent way to enhance your athletic performance.

The traditional manner in which athletes 'carb up' for an athletic competition usually involves first depleting the body's stores of carbohydrates through exercise and diet. This is then followed by rest and a high carbohydrate intake. However, studies have shown that this type of preparation is unnecessary. An athlete who eats a balanced, high-carbohydrate diet and is in reasonably good shape has plenty of carbohydrates in his or her system to meet the demands of short-duration exercises that don't exceed roughly one hour. Anyone that does exercises that last more than an hour, like long-distance running or cycling, may benefit from 'carbing up', but the ability of muscles to use fat as a source of energy rather than carbohydrates in endurance events may be even more important to performance at that level.

*25* -- Consuming foods high in sugar before training provides your body with extra energy to sustain workouts.

Simple sugars like sucrose don't need to be broken down by the body's enzymes to be used as energy like complex carbohydrates do. Therefore, they elicit a rapid release of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood-sugar levels. The trouble is, the sudden, rapid influx of sugar into the system causes the body to release insulin in what must be considered a haphazard method, ie. the amount released is usually more than what's needed to metabolise the sugar. Consequently, your blood sugar often temporarily drops to a point that is actually lower than it was _before_ you had the sugar, which might cause you to become more exhausted much earlier than it normally would. Your body is then forced to dip into its glycogen reserves in order to correct the imbalance.

To ensure that you have enough energy to complete a workout, eat nutrient- rich foods with low glycemic indices (those that elicit a smooth, steady stream of sugar into the bloodstream) like barley, lentils or beans.

*26* -- All anabolic steroids are extremely toxic and dangerous.

Here's a good trivia question borrowed from Dan Duchaine's Underground Steroid Handbook [highly recommended]: if you lined up a bottle of Dianabol (a popular steroid), a bottle of Lasix (a diuretic used by heart patients and bodybuilders who want to 'cut up' for a competition), a bottle of Valium, a bottle of aspirin, and a bottle of Slow-K (a potassium supplement), which one, upon eating a 100 tablets, wouldn't kill you? Well, most likely the Dianabol. This isn't an endorsement of steroids; it's just an effective illustration of the stigma generally associated with all steroids: 'they'll give you brain tumors like Lyle Alzado . . . they'll cause your heart to enlarge and eventually give out [they cause spontaneous decapitation . .]'. Maybe, but all steroids are different. Some are more dangerous than others. Birth control pills are steroids. Testosterone patches have been used with great success to enhance the quality of life for elderly men. Some of the steroids that bodybuilders use are very mild, and the risk associated with them is virtually negligible. Still, there _are_ dangerous steroids, and that's all the more reason that athletes who choose to use them must be more knowledgeable about them. This is what Bill Phillips' Anabolic Reference Guide [_very_ highly- recommended] is all about -- education. Of course, the physical changes that steroids bring about might cause adverse psychological effects in the user, and that fact shouldn't be ignored.

*27* -- If you stop working out, your muscle will turn into fat.

This is almost too preposterous to address. Muscle can no sooner turn to fat than gold can turn into lead. Muscle is made up of individual cells--living, 'breathing' cells that undergo all kinds of complex metabolic processes. Fat cells are simply storage packets of lipids. The possibility of one changing into another is akin to the bowling ball in your storage closet turning into your Aunt Edna. If you stop working out, if you stop applying resistance to your muscles on a consistent basis, they will simply adapt to the new condition. In other words, they'll shrink. If the degree of inactivity or immobilization is severe, the muscles will shrink faster than the surrounding skin, and a temporary condition of loose skin might be experienced, but that too would remedy itself with time.

*28* -- Ingesting MCT . (medium-chain triglyceride) oils will give you tons of energy, but they won't make you fat.

MCTs first gained prominence for treating persons suffering from fat mal- absorption, pancreatic deficiency, or stomach or esophageal diseases. Researchers found that MCTs, because of their better solubility and motility, underwent a rapid hydrolysis by salivary, gastric, and pancreatic enzymes. Consequently, they were able to reach the liver and provide energy much more quickly than long-chain triglycerides (Guillot, et al., 1993). There was also some evidence that MCTs reduced lipid deposition in fat stores compared with that resulting from LCTs under identical energy intake conditions. However, this is no reason to believe that ingesting these oils in excess will not result in a positive energy balance which the body stores as fat. MCTs, like regular oils, like regular fats, have nine calories per gramme. Even though they are metabolized differently, using them in excessive amounts will add inches to your waistline.

*29* -- If everyone took the same amount of steroids, everyone would look like a professional bodybuilder.

One of the ironies of steroid use is that some people are genetically 'gifted' in terms of steroid receptors. That means that they have a large number of receptor sites in the muscles with which a particular steroid can combine and exert its mass-building effects. The man or woman who won the last contest might very well have the most active steroid receptors rather than being the most dedicated, knowledgeable bodybuilder. On the other hand, some people might possess very few receptors for a particular steroid. That's why they experience very little, if any, growth on a particular steroid. Another factor that influences receptor affinity is age. The highest receptor affinity seems to occur in late teenage years. This is a generalization, but it seems to be true for a good number of people. Since there is a greater uptake in these individuals, they are often able to take lower dosages for longer periods of time and make better gains than older users. The truth is, two bodybuilders could take the same steroid stack, train and eat the same, and one could turn out to be in the Olympia, and the other might never even win a local contest. The difference in how people react to these drugs is incredible.

*30* -- Someone with a well-built body must be knowledgeable about fitness and physique development.

Despite popular belief, just because some guy has 20" [51cm] arms or 30" [77cm] thighs, that does not automatically credential him as a bodybuilding expert. Unfortunately, in a society where looks count for so much, well-built lifters are often regarded as bodybuilding scientists. The unfortunate fact is, many well-built athletes, even pro bodybuilders, have no idea how they got where they are. Many of them are so genetically gifted and embellish their genetic potential even further by using tons of bodybuilding drugs that they actually succeed in spite of themselves. With few exceptions, elite bodybuilders are the last people in the world you want to turn to for bodybuilding advice if you're genetically average like 98% of us. You're more likely to find expert advice from someone who has 'walked a mile in your shoes'.

The above has been reprinted from the October/November edition of Muscle Media 2000.

For subscription information to this excellent publication, contact:

Muscle Media 2000

PO Box 277

Golden CO 80402

1-800-637-1572

Although some of the natural pros are pretty MASSIVE, freaks!

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## Tatyana

*MUSCLE MEDIA 2000 EXPOSES *

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30 OF BODYBUILDING'S BIGGEST LIES *

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THAT STAND BETWEEN YOU AND SUCCESS! *

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By T.C. Luoma and Bill Phillips.*

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**1* -- You can get as big as a pro bodybuilder...

*2* -- In order to get really big...

*3* -- If you eat a low-fat diet...

*4* -- The more you work out, the more you'll grow.

*5* -- The longer you work out, the better.

*6 *-- You don't have to be strong to be big

*7* -- The training programmes that work best...

*8* -- You can't build muscle...

*9* -- You can't grow if...

*10* -- You can't make gains if...

*11* -- You should only rest 45 seconds in between sets.

*12* -- You have to use fancy weightlifting equipment...

*13* -- Weight training makes you big; aerobic exercise cuts you up.

*14* -- You can completely reshape a muscle...

*15* -- If you get a pump...

*16* -- If you do hundreds of sit-ups a day...

*17* -- Training like a powerlifter...

*18* -- High repetitions make your muscles harder and more cut up.

*19 *-- Instinctive training is the best way to promote gains. 

*20* -- Women need to train differently than men.

*21* -- There are food supplements available that...

*22* -- Professional bodybuilders represent the epitome of health and fitness. 

*23* -- Training with weights causes...

*24* -- Loading up on carbohydrates...

*25* -- Consuming foods high in sugar...

*26* -- All anabolic steroids are extremely toxic and dangerous.

*27* -- If you stop working out, your muscle will turn into fat. 

*28* -- Ingesting MCT...

*29* -- If everyone took the same amount of steroids...

*30* -- Someone with a well-built body must be knowledgeable about fitness and physique development.

*1* -- You can get as big as a pro bodybuilder. without taking steroids; it just takes longer.

Despite what many of the magazines say, all professional bodybuilders use either steroids or steroids in combination with other growth-enhancing drugs. Without manipulating hormones, it just isn't possible to get that degree of muscularity, the paper-thin skin, and the continuing ability to pack on mass, despite sometimes having poor workout habits and relative ignorance of the principles involved that many pro bodybuilders have. Many supplement distributors, in order to sell their products, would have you believe otherwise.

Still, that's no reason to give up. By using state-of-the-art training principles, consuming a nutrient-rich diet, and by getting proper amounts of rest, almost every person can make incredible changes in his or her physique. The competitive bodybuilder circuit may not be in your future, but building the kind of physique that gains you respect is certainly achievable, as are self-respect and robust health.

*2* -- In order to get really big, you have to eat a super-high-calorie diet.

Well, that's true; you'll get really big if you eat a super high-calorie diet, but you'll look like the Michelin Man's fraternal twin. However, if you want to get big, lean-tissue wise, then super-high-calorie diets are probably not for you unless you are one of those very few people with metabolicrates so fast you can burn off these calories instead of depositing them as fat. Unfortunately, studies show that, in most people, about 65% of the new tissue gains brought about by high-calorie diets consists of fat! Of the remaining 35%, approximately 15% consists of increased intracellular fluid volume, leaving a very modest percentage attributable to increased lean muscle mass.

According to Dr Scott Connelly (MM2K, Spring 1992, p. 21), only about 20% to 25% of increased muscle growth stems from increased protein synthesis. The rest of the muscle growth is directly attributable to increased proliferation of the satellite cells in the basal lamina of muscle tissue, and dietary energy (calories) is not a key factor in the differentiation of these cells into new myofibres (muscle cells).

Of all factors determining muscle growth, prevention of protein breakdown (anti-catabolism) seems to be the most relevant, but adding adipose [fat] tissue through constant overfeeding can actually increase muscle pro- teolysis (breakdown). Furthermore, additional adipose mass can radically alter hormone balances which are responsible for controlling protein breakdown in muscle. Insulin balance, for one, which partially controls anti-catabolism in the body, is impaired by consistent overfeeding. So much for the eat-big-to-get-big philosophy!

Stay away from the super-high calorie diets unless you're a genetic freak, or you're woefully lean and don't mind putting on fat [or you're using appropriate pharmaceutical supplements].

*3* -- If you eat a low-fat diet, it doesn't matter how many calories you take in, you won't gain any fat.

The bottom line is, if you exceed your energy requirements, you'll gradually get fatter and fatter. It's true that eating a diet rich in fat will pack on the pounds quicker for a variety of reasons, the most significant being that a gram of fat has nine calories as opposed to the four calories per gram that carbohydrates and proteins carry. Fat is also metabolized differently in the body. It takes a lesser amount of calories to assimilate the energy in ingested fat than it does to assimilate an equal (weight wise) amount of carbohydrates. Consequently, more fat calories get stored than carbohydrate calories. However, the gross intake of carbohydrates, as facilitated by many of the weight-gain powders, will make you fat very quickly.

*4* -- The more you work out, the more you'll grow.

No, no no. This is one of the most damaging myths that ever reared its ugly head. 95% of the pros will tell you that the biggest bodybuilding mistake they ever made was to over-train--and this happened even when they were taking steroids. Imagine how easy it is for the natural athlete to overtrain! When you train your muscles too often for them to heal, the end-result is zero growth and perhaps even losses. Working out every day, if you're truly using the proper amount of intensity, will lead to gross overtraining. A body part, worked properly, ie. worked to complete, total muscular failure that recruited as many muscle fibers as physiologically possible, can take 5-10 days to heal.

To take it a step further, even working a different body part in the next few days might constitute overtraining. If you truly work your quads to absolute fiber-tearing failure, doing another power workout the next day that entails heavy bench-presses or deadlifts is going to, in all probability, inhibit gains. After a serious leg workout, your whole system mobilizes to heal and recover from the blow you've dealt it. How, then, can the body be expected to heal from an equally brutal workout the next day? It can't, at least not without using some drugs to help deal with the catabolic processes going on in your body [and even they're usually not enough .]

Learn to accept rest as a valuable part of your workout. You should probably spend as many days out of the gym as you do in it.

*5* -- The longer you work out, the better.

It just isn't necessary to do 20-30 sets for a body part, or even 10 sets like many 'experts' would have you believe. In fact, research has shown that it's possible to completely fatigue a muscle in one set, provided that that set taxes a muscle completely, ie. incorporates as many muscle fibers as possible and takes them to the point of ischemic rigour where, rather than contract and relax, the muscle fibers freeze up, sort of like a microscopic version of rigor mortis. Any further contraction causes microscopic tearing. Hypertrophy is just one adaption to this kind of stress and it's naturally the kind most bodybuilders are interested in.

This kind of intensity can usually be achieved by doing drop or break-down sets where you rep out, lower the weight, and continue doing reps until you either can't do another rep or you've run out of weight. It can also be achieved by doing your maximum number of reps on a particular exercise: by a combination of will, tenacity, and short rest periods, you complete ten more reps. You achieve the short rest periods by locking out the weight-bearing joint in question without putting the weight down. In other words, completely surpass your normal pain and energy thresholds.

If you can truly work your muscle to the point described, it will afford you little, if any, benefit to do another set (Westcott, 1986). The exception would be the body parts that are so big that they have distinct geographical areas, like the back, which obviously has an upper, middle and lower part. The chest might also fall into this category, as it has a distinct upper and lower part, each with different insertion points.

*6 *-- You don't have to be strong to be big

For a variety of reasons, people, even those with an equal amount of muscle mass, vary in strength enormously. It might have something to do with fast-twitch/slow-twitch muscle ratios, or it might have something to do with the efficiency of nerve pathways or even limb length and the resultant torque. But it is still a relative term. To get bigger muscles, you have to lift heavier weight, and you, not the guy next door, have to become stronger -- stronger than you were. Increasing muscle strength in the natural athlete, except in a very few, rare instances, requires that the tension applied to muscle fibers be high. If the tension applied to muscle fibers are light, maximal growth will not occur (Lieber, 1992).

*7* -- The training programmes that work best for pro bodybuilders are best for everyone.

You see it happen every day in gyms across the country. Some bodybuilding neophyte will walk up to a guy who looks like he's an escaped attraction from Jurassic Park and ask him how he trains. The biggest guy in the gym likely got that way from either taking a tremendous amount of drugs and/or by being genetically pre-dispositioned to get big. Follow a horse home and you'll find horse parents. The guy in your gym who is best bodybuilder is the guy who has made the most progress and done the most to his physique using natural techniques. He may still be a pencil neck, but he may have put on 40 pounds [19kg] of lean body mass to get where he is, and that, in all probability, took some know-how. That person probably doesn't overtrain, keeps his sets down to a minimum, and uses great form and concentration on the eccentric (negative) portion of each exercise repetition.

Many pros spend hours and hours doing innumerable sets--so many it would far surpass the average person's recuperative abilities. If average people followed the routines of average pro bodybuilders, they would, in effect, start to whittle down what muscle mass they did have or, at best, make only a tiny bit of progress after a couple of years.

*8* -- You can't build muscle on a sub-maintenance calorie intake diet.

It may be a little harder, and it may require a little bit more know-how and a little bit more conscientious effort, but it can be done. The fact is, the obese state in humans and animals is not universally correlated with absolute levels of caloric intake and neither is the accrual of lean body mass. The ability to realize changes in lean/fat ratios is regulated by components of the automatic nervous system working in concert with several endocrine hormones; this is called nutrient partitioning. For example, certain beta-agonist drugs like Clenbuterol increase meat production in cattle over 30% while simultaneously diminishing bodyfat without increasing the amount or composition of their feed. Other drugs, including growth hormone, certain oestrogens, cortisol, ephedrine, and IGF-1 are all examples of re-partitioning agents. All increase oxygen consumption at the expense of fat storage--independent of energy intake!

Drugs are not the only way to do this, however. It's true that a significant component of this mechanism is genetically linked, but specific nutrients, in specific amounts, when combined with an effective training programme, can markedly improve the lean/fat ratio of adult humans. MET-Rx is one such nutrient re-partitioning agent, and several companies are trying to duplicate its successes *[warning: one of the authors of this article has a significant financial stake in Substrate Technologies, the makers of MET-Rx].*

*9* -- You can't grow if you only work each body part once a week.

If you work out -- work out intensely-- then it can take 5-10 days for the muscles to heal. Although the following should be taken with a grain of salt when determining your own exercise frequency, a study in the May 1993 issue of the Journal of Physiology revealed it can take weeks for muscles to recuperate from an intense workout. The study involved a group of men and women who had worked their forearms to the max. All of the subjects said they were sore two days after exercising, and the soreness was gone by the seventh day, and the swelling was gone by the ninth day. After six weeks, the subjects had only gained back half the strength they had before the original exercise! By no means are we advocating that you wait two months between workouts, but we are trying to prove the point that it takes muscles longer to heal than what you might have previously thought. For some people, especially natural bodybuilders, waiting a week between body part workouts might be just what the doctor ordered for size and strength gains!

*10* -- You can't make gains if. you only train with weights three days a week.

Although you probably couldn't find a single steroid-assisted athlete who trains only three days a week [well, I was, and I made fantastic gains!], there's absolutely no reason why a three-day-a-week routine couldn't work for many natural athletes. As long as your routine attacked the whole body and you worked to failure on each set, you could easily experience great gains on this sort of routine. However, you need to pay even more attention to your diet if you only train three days a week, especially if your job involves little or no physical activity, and you like to spend your idle time eating. Ignore those who say three-day-a-week bodybuilders are only 'recreational lifters'. Think quality and not quantity.

*11* -- You should only rest 45 seconds in between sets.

That's true if you're trying to improve cardiovascular health or lose some bodyfat. But in order to build muscle, you need to allow enough time for the muscle to recuperate fully (ie. let the lactic acid buildup in your muscles dissipate and ATP levels build back up). In order to make muscles grow, you have to lift the heaviest weight possible, thereby allowing the maximum number of muscle fibers to be recruited. If the amount of weight you lift is being limited by the amount of lactic acid left over from the previous set, you're only testing your ability to battle the effects of lactic acid. In other words, you're trying to swim across a pool while wearing concrete overshoes. When training heavy, take [at least!] two and three minutes between your sets. Notice I said, "when training heavy." The truth is, you can't train heavy all the time. Periodization calls for cycling heavy workouts with less intense training sessions in an effort to keep the body from becoming overtrained. (See 'Periodization' by Brad Jeffreys on p. 85 of the Feb/March 1993 issue of MM2K)

*12* -- You have to use fancy weightlifting equipment in order to make the best gains.

Futuristic-looking, complex machinery designed to give your muscles the 'ultimate workout' is typically less effective than good-old barbells and dumbbells. Using simple free weights (barbells and dumbbells) on basic multi-joint exercises, like the squat, bench press, shoulder press, and deadlift, is still the most effective means of resistance exercise ever invented. Scientific research has shown that many exercise machines lack the proper eccentric component of an exercise that's necessary to stimulate muscle tissue to remodel (grow). (See the article titled 'Research Confirms that Bodybuilders Should Pay Heavy Attention to Negative Reps' by Bill Phillips on p.18 of the Feb/March issue of MM2K)

*13* -- Weight training makes you big; aerobic exercise cuts you up.

Manipulations in your nutrient intake are the main factor in getting cut up, and how you do it doesn't matter. If your daily caloric expenditure exceeds your daily caloric intake on a consistent basis, you will lose fat and get more cut.

Aerobic exercise is generally meant to improve cardiovascular efficiency, but if you do it long enough, you will burn up calories and in the long run drop the fat. However, weightlifting can do the same thing, only better. Studies have shown that the body burns far more efficiently if exercise is performed at a moderate pace for periods longer than 20 minutes. (It generally takes that long for the glucose in the bloodstream to be 'burned up', causing the body to dip into glycogen reserves for its energy) Once the glycogen reserves are used up, the body must metabolize fatty acids for energy. That equate to lost bodyfat.

In the long run, bodybuilding is more efficient than aerobics for burning up calories. Let me explain--if researchers were to undertake a study of twins whereby one twin performed daily aerobics and the other practiced a bodybuilding programme where the end result was increased lean body mass, the bodybuilding twin would ultimately be a more efficient fat burner than his aerobic twin. Why? Well, by adding lean body mass, that person's metabolic requirements are higher--muscle uses energy even while it is not being used. The aerobic twin might use more calories during the time period of exercise itself, but the weight-lifting twin would use a higher amount during rest time, leading to a higher net 24-hour expenditure. The weight lifter burns fat just sitting there.

*14* -- You can completely reshape a muscle by doing isolation exercises.

You can't limit growth to only one area of a muscle. Larry Scott, for whom the 'biceps peaking' Scott curl was named, had tremendous biceps, but he didn't have much of a peak. The shape of your biceps, or for that matter, any muscle, is determined by your genetic makeup. When you work a muscle, any muscle, it works on the all-or-nothing principle, meaning that each muscle fiber recruited to do a lift -- along the entire length of that muscle -- is contracted fully. Why would a certain number of them, like the ones in the middle of the biceps, suddenly start to grow differently or at a faster rate than its partners? If anything, the muscles that are closest to the insertion points are the most prone to mechanical stress, and you don't see them get any bigger than the rest of the muscle. If they did, everyone would have proportions like Popeye.

This is true of any muscle, but you're probably thinking, what about quads? I know that when I do hack squats with my feet together, it tends to give me more sweep in my legs. Sure it does, but the quadriceps are made up of four different main muscles, and doing hacks with your feet together forces the vastus lateralis muscles on the outside of the leg to work harder; consequently, they grow proportionately along their entire length and give the outer quads more sweep.

As further evidence, take a look at a picture of any young professional bodybuilder before he was developed enough to become a pro. He will have virtually the same structural lines as he does today. All that has changed is that his muscles are now bigger.

*15* -- If you get a pump , you're working the muscles adequately to ensure muscular hypertrophy, or if your muscles are burning, that means you are promoting muscle growth.

A pump, despite what Arnold Schwarzenegger said about it "feeling better than coming", is nothing more than the muscle becoming engorged with blood from capillary action. It can be achieved easily by curling a soup can fifty times. It by no means equates to the muscular intensity needed to promote growth. The same is true of the coveted 'burn' that Hollywood muscleheads advise the public to 'go for'. A burn is simply an accumulation of lactic acid, a by-product of chemical respiration. You can get a burn by peddling a bicycle or simply extending your arm straight out and moving it in tiny circles [or sitting in a burning fireplace!]. It does not necessarily mean you are promoting muscle growth. For hypertrophy to occur, you have to subject the muscles to high levels of tension, and high tension levels are best induced by heavy weights.

*16* -- If you do hundreds of sit-ups a day, you will eventually achieve a narrow, washboard-type midsection.

There is no such thing as spot-reduction. Doing thousands and thousands of sit-ups will give you tight abdominal muscles, but they will do nothing to rid your midsection of fat. Thigh adductor and abductor movements will give women's thighs more firmness, but they will do nothing to rid the area of fat, or what is commonly [and erroneously] called cellulite. Nothing will rid the body of fat, unless it is a carefully-orchestrated reduction in your daily energy intake; in other words, if you burn more calories than you ingest (or do that in conjunction with a nutrient partitioning agent. See #8)

*17* -- Training like a powerlifter --deadlifts, heavy squats, bench presses--will make your physique look blocky.

Blockiness, like baldness or a flat chest, is a genetic trait. If you were born blocky, then powerlifting will simply make you a bigger blocky person. The only way to offset a blocky appearance is to give special emphasis to the lats, the outer muscles of the thighs, and to a fat-reducing diet which will keep the midsection as narrow as possible. With these modifications, you will give your body the illusion of a more "aerodynamic" appearance. The truth is, powerlifting exercises are excellent for bodybuilding.

*18* -- High repetitions make your muscles harder and more cut up.

Although there is some evidence to suggest that high repetitions might induce some extra capillary intrusion into a muscle, they will do nothing to make the muscle harder or more cut up. If a completely sedentary person began weightlifting, using either low reps or high reps, he or she would experience a rapid increase in tonus, the degree of muscular contraction that the muscle maintains even when that muscle is relaxed, but that would happen regardless of rep range. The only way that high repetitions would make a muscle more cut up is if, by doing a higher number of reps, your body as a whole was in negative energy balance, and you were burning more calories than you were ingesting. The truth is, heavy weights, lifted for 5-8 reps per set, can build rock-hard muscles. You just have to get the fat off them to see how "hard" they are.

*19 *-- Instinctive training is the best way to promote gains.

If bodybuilders followed their instincts, they'd go home and pop open a Bud [much prefer Toohey's Red myself!]. Instinctive training is a wonderful catch-phrase, and it might even work for drug-assisted athletes since the very act of opening up a Bud would probably induce muscular growth in them. However, in a natural bodybuilder, the approach to long-term, consistent gains in muscular mass has to be, shall we say, a bit more scientific. Research results conducted by exercise physiologists recommend a systematic approach such as the one encompassed by periodization where the bodybuilder, through a period of several weeks, lifts ever-increasing pre-set percentages of a one-rep lift. This heavy period is also periodically staggered with a lighter training phase 'cycle'. Ultimately, the percentages increase, the maximum one-rep lifts increase, and lean body mass increases. There is nothing instinctive about it.

*20* -- Women need to train differently than men.

On a microscopic level, there is virtually no difference between the muscle tissue of men and the muscle tissue of women. Men and women have different levels of the same hormones, and that's what is responsible for the difference in the amount of muscle a man can typically put on and the amount of muscle a woman can typically gain. There is absolutely no reason why either should train differently than the other sex, provided they have the same goals. The only difference in training might be as a result of cultural, sexual preferences. A woman might desire to develop her glutes a little more so she looks better in a pair of 'Guess' jeans. Conversely, a man might want to build his lats a little more so that he fits the cultural stereotype of a virile man.

*21* -- There are food supplements available that are just as effective as steroids, yet safer.

The only things as effective as steroids are other steroids. Despite the proclamations of some supplement distributors, usually in giant, 35-point type, no currently available supplement works like steroids. However, nutrients and supplements can be extremely effective, especially if your diet is lacking in some critical component or you're genetically predisposed to accept that nutrient or supplement. Biochemically, individuals vary enormously, and the interaction of genetics, coupled with the widely varying diets that each of us eats, makes it virtually impossible to gauge just what will work for one individual and what won't. That is why some supplements work better than others for some people, just as some people are genetically predispositioned to accept steroids more readily than others. Food supplements do have benefits that can't be overlooked -- they're generally safe, and they won't get you thrown into jail. But none of them build muscle as fast or as well as steroids.

*22* -- Professional bodybuilders represent the epitome of health and fitness.

The ultimate irony is that the IFBB is facing in trying to get bodybuilders into the Olympics is that while every athlete in every other sport is presumably the healthiest they've ever been so that they are able to compete athletically and break records, the bodybuilder is so weak on competition day that he or she would have trouble fending off the attacks of an enraged toy poodle. The weeks of constant dieting, workouts that continually tax the body almost beyond recovery, and a constant influx of potentially harmful drugs and diuretics have brought most of them to total exhaustion.

And think about the huge amounts of food some steroid-using bodybuilders eat. In all the longevity sites in the world where people routinely live to be one hundred, the only common denominator is that they all either under-eat or eat just enough to meet their daily caloric requirements. By ingesting less food, they ingest less harmful chemicals, and fewer free radicals are formed in the body. The average professional builder probably eats at least four or five times what these aforementioned people eat. As a result, bodybuilders often suffer from high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Plus, with all that extra mass, the heart has to work that much harder and will probably stop beating years before it was designed to. That's why professional bodybuilding is the ultimate act of vanity. It was done strictly to fulfill some misguided notion of the superhuman ideal, and health was not even a consideration. Almost without exception, these guys and gals are not healthy, and they'll probably be among the first to tell you so. However, weight-training and consuming a nutrient-rich diet is very healthy, as long as it is not carried to extremes.

*23* -- Training with weights causes your muscles to get tight and hinders flexibility and, consequently, athletic performance.

If anything, when done properly (slowly and using a complete range of motion), weight training increases flexibility. Many athletes now engage in weight training in order to improve their performance in their chosen sport -- witness Evander Hollyfield or any number of track athletes, basketball players, or gymnasts; the list goes on and on.

This lie goes all the way back to the 1930s. Companies that were selling isometric exercise programmes by mail were trying to convince people _not_ to exercise with barbells, simply because it wasn't practical to send weights through the mail. So they made up the 'muscle-bound' lie.

This lie might have been fueled from the feeling of 'tightness' that accompanies an intense workout. If the workout was intense and a sufficient number of muscle fibers were recruited and microscopically damaged, then even the normal tonus (the normal amount of contraction experienced by a relaxed muscle) is more than enough to cause a feeling of pain and tightness. The tightness is compounded by the 'tugging' of the tendons on the muscles. Stretching, however, would do much to alleviate this tightness, and stretching is a recommended part of any athletic pursuit.

The only possible confirmation of this lie concerns a baseball pitcher's arm. An intense weight training programme might affect a pitcher's ability to throw a fast ball, but it wouldn't be because of a lack of flexibility. The speed a pitcher can generate seems to be determined more by a complex relationship of tendon length and strength and nervous system efficiency as opposed to muscular strength, and weight training could, possibly, upset this delicate balance.

*24* -- Loading up on carbohydrates is an excellent way to enhance your athletic performance.

The traditional manner in which athletes 'carb up' for an athletic competition usually involves first depleting the body's stores of carbohydrates through exercise and diet. This is then followed by rest and a high carbohydrate intake. However, studies have shown that this type of preparation is unnecessary. An athlete who eats a balanced, high-carbohydrate diet and is in reasonably good shape has plenty of carbohydrates in his or her system to meet the demands of short-duration exercises that don't exceed roughly one hour. Anyone that does exercises that last more than an hour, like long-distance running or cycling, may benefit from 'carbing up', but the ability of muscles to use fat as a source of energy rather than carbohydrates in endurance events may be even more important to performance at that level.

*25* -- Consuming foods high in sugar before training provides your body with extra energy to sustain workouts.

Simple sugars like sucrose don't need to be broken down by the body's enzymes to be used as energy like complex carbohydrates do. Therefore, they elicit a rapid release of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood-sugar levels. The trouble is, the sudden, rapid influx of sugar into the system causes the body to release insulin in what must be considered a haphazard method, ie. the amount released is usually more than what's needed to metabolise the sugar. Consequently, your blood sugar often temporarily drops to a point that is actually lower than it was _before_ you had the sugar, which might cause you to become more exhausted much earlier than it normally would. Your body is then forced to dip into its glycogen reserves in order to correct the imbalance.

To ensure that you have enough energy to complete a workout, eat nutrient- rich foods with low glycemic indices (those that elicit a smooth, steady stream of sugar into the bloodstream) like barley, lentils or beans.

*26* -- All anabolic steroids are extremely toxic and dangerous.

Here's a good trivia question borrowed from Dan Duchaine's Underground Steroid Handbook [highly recommended]: if you lined up a bottle of Dianabol (a popular steroid), a bottle of Lasix (a diuretic used by heart patients and bodybuilders who want to 'cut up' for a competition), a bottle of Valium, a bottle of aspirin, and a bottle of Slow-K (a potassium supplement), which one, upon eating a 100 tablets, wouldn't kill you? Well, most likely the Dianabol. This isn't an endorsement of steroids; it's just an effective illustration of the stigma generally associated with all steroids: 'they'll give you brain tumors like Lyle Alzado . . . they'll cause your heart to enlarge and eventually give out [they cause spontaneous decapitation . .]'. Maybe, but all steroids are different. Some are more dangerous than others. Birth control pills are steroids. Testosterone patches have been used with great success to enhance the quality of life for elderly men. Some of the steroids that bodybuilders use are very mild, and the risk associated with them is virtually negligible. Still, there _are_ dangerous steroids, and that's all the more reason that athletes who choose to use them must be more knowledgeable about them. This is what Bill Phillips' Anabolic Reference Guide [_very_ highly- recommended] is all about -- education. Of course, the physical changes that steroids bring about might cause adverse psychological effects in the user, and that fact shouldn't be ignored.

*27* -- If you stop working out, your muscle will turn into fat.

This is almost too preposterous to address. Muscle can no sooner turn to fat than gold can turn into lead. Muscle is made up of individual cells--living, 'breathing' cells that undergo all kinds of complex metabolic processes. Fat cells are simply storage packets of lipids. The possibility of one changing into another is akin to the bowling ball in your storage closet turning into your Aunt Edna. If you stop working out, if you stop applying resistance to your muscles on a consistent basis, they will simply adapt to the new condition. In other words, they'll shrink. If the degree of inactivity or immobilization is severe, the muscles will shrink faster than the surrounding skin, and a temporary condition of loose skin might be experienced, but that too would remedy itself with time.

*28* -- Ingesting MCT . (medium-chain triglyceride) oils will give you tons of energy, but they won't make you fat.

MCTs first gained prominence for treating persons suffering from fat mal- absorption, pancreatic deficiency, or stomach or esophageal diseases. Researchers found that MCTs, because of their better solubility and motility, underwent a rapid hydrolysis by salivary, gastric, and pancreatic enzymes. Consequently, they were able to reach the liver and provide energy much more quickly than long-chain triglycerides (Guillot, et al., 1993). There was also some evidence that MCTs reduced lipid deposition in fat stores compared with that resulting from LCTs under identical energy intake conditions. However, this is no reason to believe that ingesting these oils in excess will not result in a positive energy balance which the body stores as fat. MCTs, like regular oils, like regular fats, have nine calories per gramme. Even though they are metabolized differently, using them in excessive amounts will add inches to your waistline.

*29* -- If everyone took the same amount of steroids, everyone would look like a professional bodybuilder.

One of the ironies of steroid use is that some people are genetically 'gifted' in terms of steroid receptors. That means that they have a large number of receptor sites in the muscles with which a particular steroid can combine and exert its mass-building effects. The man or woman who won the last contest might very well have the most active steroid receptors rather than being the most dedicated, knowledgeable bodybuilder. On the other hand, some people might possess very few receptors for a particular steroid. That's why they experience very little, if any, growth on a particular steroid. Another factor that influences receptor affinity is age. The highest receptor affinity seems to occur in late teenage years. This is a generalization, but it seems to be true for a good number of people. Since there is a greater uptake in these individuals, they are often able to take lower dosages for longer periods of time and make better gains than older users. The truth is, two bodybuilders could take the same steroid stack, train and eat the same, and one could turn out to be in the Olympia, and the other might never even win a local contest. The difference in how people react to these drugs is incredible.

*30* -- Someone with a well-built body must be knowledgeable about fitness and physique development.

Despite popular belief, just because some guy has 20" [51cm] arms or 30" [77cm] thighs, that does not automatically credential him as a bodybuilding expert. Unfortunately, in a society where looks count for so much, well-built lifters are often regarded as bodybuilding scientists. The unfortunate fact is, many well-built athletes, even pro bodybuilders, have no idea how they got where they are. Many of them are so genetically gifted and embellish their genetic potential even further by using tons of bodybuilding drugs that they actually succeed in spite of themselves. With few exceptions, elite bodybuilders are the last people in the world you want to turn to for bodybuilding advice if you're genetically average like 98% of us. You're more likely to find expert advice from someone who has 'walked a mile in your shoes'.

The above has been reprinted from the October/November edition of Muscle Media 2000.

For subscription information to this excellent publication, contact:

Muscle Media 2000

PO Box 277

Golden CO 80402

1-800-637-1572

Although some of the natural pros are pretty MASSIVE, freaks!

x

x

x

T


----------



## winger

Probably the best reading I have ever done.

Very nice post Tatyana, I loved it.


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## winger

Hey mods, I dont think the rep points work.


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## Truewarrior1

nice post tat


----------



## Cavster

Great posts...enjoyed reading them!


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## winger

Welcome to the board Cavster!


----------



## Peg

Quick concise overview about the biochemistry of carbohydrates in your diet

Success in bodybuilding is knowing how to manipulate your body into producing the muscles and losing the stored fat.

The rest of this site tells you how to do that.

Understand that excess protein and carbs are either excreted or stored as fat.

Each person must find their own particular caloric need that is optimum for their own body.

See the calculators for that in Diet and Nutrition/Recipes/Measurements and Cooking Tips.

Follow the good advice in all stickies in all forums.


----------



## winger

I love Mike. Very nice link Peg.


----------



## Peg

It is. I wish it was longer. Can you use your cyber super powers to find the longer version? 

I didn't want that nugget to get lost in the general section.

It is a good place for beginners to start.


----------



## winger

Peg said:


> It is. I wish it was longer. Can you use your cyber super powers to find the longer version?
> 
> I didn't want that nugget to get lost in the general section.
> 
> It is a good place for beginners to start.


I bet I can. 

Very nice post again sweetness!


----------



## leveret

I'm a beginner to weight training, i have me weights all set up in my garage and work from there.

Atm i do my weights every other day and on the days inbetween i go for a run (10-20mins depending) I know this won't increase my leg size but for the moment i feel my legs just need abit of toning.

One thing i worry about is that when i first started i was walking around for a few days in pain and struggling to move my upper body but now the day after a workout i dont have alot of pain... Even when i increase my weights i still don't get alot of aching.

I take creatine on the day i do my running and take Whey protein with 1/2 pint of milk 3 times a day inbetween meals every day.

I eat healthy and hope to loose abit of body body to make my muscles look leaner and put some size on.

I've taken some photos and will show you them when i feel confident enough


----------



## BATCHY

Killerkeane said:


> yeah, i have one of the best reads for a beginner though to gain weight, i'll give you the link, i am sure the guy that wrote it will not mind as it is beneficial to so many
> 
> 1. Mind-set
> 
> So often neglected by the beginner and yet the most important ingredient in success&#8230;. DESIRE. So many fail by seeing it as a short term goal to improve your physique. This will contribute to failure. Get it out of your head that you need to get in shape for your holiday in 8 weeks time. You should see it as a lifestyle. A way to live your life. "A bodybuilder is for life not just for Christmas"
> 
> Accept the condition your body is in and make the decision to change your life to achieve your objectives. Accept it is a long term plan and you will not be disheartened if it takes time to improve. Lets face it folks, if it was easy then everbody would be doing it.
> 
> Be realistic about your goals. A beginner should not be saying I want to lose 30Ibs of fat and gain 20Ibs of lean muscle in 2 months. It Just Won't happen, yet people time & again put this sort of image in their mind and become disheartened when it doesn't happen that fast. Time to wake up and forget the brainwashing from much of the health & fitness industry we have endured most of our lives to sell their latest fat loss or muscle growth gimmick.
> 
> Prepare yourself for hard work and sacrifice and you will see it as something you love and not as a chore. You will see it as something that distinguishes you from the masses who cannot be bothered or those who shoulder too much pride to seek advice. As soon as you see it as a chore you are on the path to failure.
> 
> 2. Objective Setting
> 
> First of all assess your physique. Decide what you need to do most of all - Lose fat, build muscle. How fat you are, or how small your muscles are, will determine where your priorities are. I feel this is important so that you can set yourself some attainable targets. Remember&#8230;. For fat loss, the more muscle you have the more calories your body burns at rest and while exercising a Ib of muscle burns roughly 10x as many calories as a Ib of fat (approx 70 cals per hour compared to 7 cals per hour for fat).
> 
> Set some sensible targets e.g. to lose 10Ibs of fat in 5 weeks and gain 5 Ibs of lean muscle mass. Despite what we think, it is physically more difficult to build muscle than to lose fat. You can, though not advisable, lose 4 or 5 Ibs of fat in a week (as you are likely to lose muscle mass). You cannot build 5Ibs of lean muscle in a week.... live with that fact as It will not happen.
> 
> Setting some lifting targets as you become familiar with the exercises and your routine e.g adding 20kg to your bench press in a month, will help you gauge your progress.
> 
> 3. Training - Weights
> 
> Your weights routine will be the bedrock of your lean muscle gains. To make consistant and long term gains you should make of point of having a structured weight routine from the start.
> 
> My first recommendation is to join a good gym. A gym that offers a comprehensive induction process, members of staff who know what they are doing. It should have a full range of free weights & equipment, lots of dumbells and plates (especially plenty of the heavy plates-20Kgs) for you to work your way up to the bigger weights. A good gym will be one where you feel comfortable.
> 
> It is very important that as a novice you are NOT INTIMIDATED by training alongside much more experienced bodybuilders. They won't bite you !!!! Most are very nice, helpful and normal people that are good fun and very helpful. They will not be looking down at you because you are new to the sport. We all were at some time! In fact use their experience to help show you how to do exercises correctly, etc as most of us just love the sound of our own voice and will not hesitate to help someone less experienced. Swallow that pride folks.
> 
> My preference is to start as you mean to go on and learn to use free-weights asap. They will allow a much more thorough workout of the muscles than machines due to the full range of natural motion you can achieve in the exercises and that they recruit many more fibres in the supporting muscles and working muscles than machines. More fibres recruited&#8230;.. More muscle gains you'll make.
> 
> GET YOUR FORM RIGHT!!!! This cannot be stressed enough. Poor form is rife amongst the MAJORITY of gym goers and will vastly hinder your progress. Do not sacrifice good form in ALL exercises for more weight just to feed your ego! Your muscles will develop MUCH quicker and you will have much less risk of injury if your form is good. If you cannot complete good form with the exercise then the weight is too heavy for you. It's that simple! Live with it! And work at getting stronger while having perfect form. Do not try and compete against the bloke next to you who is doing it wrong but lifting heavier. (in 6 months time he'll be the one that won't have grown much at all and you can leave him to wonder how you have put on so much mass.)
> 
> To see how any exercises are done correctly click here -
> 
> http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=33049
> 
> Try and separate your workouts into splits - chest, biceps, triceps, back, traps, legs, calves, shoulders, abs. Train each group once a week and your body will have plenty of time to recover and rest. You grow when you rest.
> 
> A nice 4 day split that will not kill you is
> 
> - Chest/Triceps/Abs
> 
> - Back/Biceps
> 
> - Shoulders/Traps
> 
> - Legs/Calves
> 
> As a good rule aim for 9-12 sets (MAXIMUM) for Large Muscle groups (Chest/Back/Legs) followed by a smaller muscle group for 6-8 sets (MAXIMUM)(Biceps/Triceps/Shoulders/Abs/Calves). Go easy on the biceps as they are much smaller than the tricep so will probably respond better at the lower end of that set range. Forget about doing 50 sets of bicep curls for big arms! You'll overtrain them and they will not grow to their full potential.
> 
> Also as a good rule work at a weight that you can perform 6-8 reps with strict form with before you can't hold good form anymore. When 8x becomes comfortable then you can add a little more weight on. 6-8 reps is the best compromise between hypertrophy gains (muscle growth) & strength gains. Where you see "train to failure " - this means until you cannot do anymore reps at that weight with perfect form.
> 
> Here's an idea for a routine as an example which was my own routine based on gaining lean mass and shifting some bodyfat:
> 
> SATURDAY - Chest/Tri
> 
> 5 Min warm-up
> 
> Dumbell Flat Bench - 4 sets 6-8 reps
> 
> Weighted Dips For Chest - 4 sets 6-8 reps (last set to failure)
> 
> Incline Dumbell Fly- 4 sets 6-8 reps (last set to failure)
> 
> Skull Crushers - 3 sets 6-8 reps (or close grip bench press)
> 
> overhead cable presses 3 sets 6-8 reps (last set to fail) (or close grip bench presses)
> 
> SUNDAY - Back/Bi
> 
> 5 min warm-up
> 
> Deadlifts 4 sets 6-8 reps (last set to failure)
> 
> Bent Over One Arm Dumbell Rows 4 sets 6-8 reps
> 
> Lat pulldowns 3 sets 6-8 reps (last set to fail)
> 
> (I would prefer you to do chins instead though if you are strong enough to lift your bodyweight)
> 
> Barbell Bicep curl 3 sets 6-8 reps
> 
> One arm Dumbell Hammer curls 3 sets 6-8 reps
> 
> MONDAY
> 
> REST & Cardio (30 mins swimming before brekkie approx 40 lengths)
> 
> TUESDAY - Delts/traps
> 
> 5 min warm-up
> 
> Seated Dumbell military press 3 sets 6-8 reps
> 
> Lateral dumbell raises (side) 3 sets 6-8 reps (last to fail)
> 
> Barbell Shrugs 5 sets 6-8 reps
> 
> WEDNESDAY
> 
> REST & Cardio (30 mins swimming b4 brekkie)
> 
> THURSDAY - Legs & Abs
> 
> 5 min warm-up
> 
> Barbell Squats 4 sets 6-8 reps
> 
> Stiff Legged Dead Lifts 3 sets 6-8 reps
> 
> Calf Raises 4 sets 8-10 reps (last set to fail)
> 
> Weighted Swiss Ball crunches 4x sets 6-8 reps
> 
> hanging leg raises 4x sets 6-8 reps
> 
> Dumbell side bends 3x sets 6-8 reps
> 
> FRIDAY
> 
> REST & Cardio (30 mins swim b4 brekkie)
> 
> [sEE END OF POST FOR ALTERNATE ROUTINE TO CHANGE TO WHEN YOU HIT PLATEAU]
> 
> For some other routine ideas click here - http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=29461
> 
> 4. Rest
> 
> This is very important. You should aim to give your muscles a week's rest for recovery and growth. Muscles grow while you rest. It is very easy to overtrain and when you do your body goes into catabolysis (where it starts using the body's protein source - muscle). This is not good. Many budding Bodybuilders overtrain and wonder why their biceps haven't grown in the last 6 months! (that is why I have listed the rep & set numbers like I have). It is very easy to overtrain, especially when you are very enthusiastic at the outset. To begin with you will most likely gain some muscle but not nearly as much as if you rested properly. No good doing 20x sets of bicep curls 3x a week. Your arms will not grow!
> 
> You should get a minimum of 8hrs sleep every night. You grow while you sleep. Less than 7hrs and you start to risk catabolysis of the muscles and lose those hard earned gains.
> 
> 5. Training - Cardio
> 
> Important for fat loss & cardiovascular fitness. You should aim to do cardio on separate sessions from weights so that your muscle glycogen is used while weight training to fuel the muscles. DO NOT perform cardio before the weights sessions otherwise you reduce the potency of the weights session.
> 
> Fat loss cardio should be at 65% Max Heart Rate (MHR) for 30-40 mins and ideally before breakfast so that your body can tap into its fat stores for fuel immediately. Any more than this and at a higher intensity then your body will also utilise protein for fuel and lead to muscle loss (HIIT is the exception to this but we'll keep it simple for now). If time is a prob then if you have to do cardio in the same session as weights then do it AFTER the weights and for no more than 20 mins at 65% MHR. Always try to have a protein shake before cardio (even 1st thing in the morning).
> 
> Endurance cardio is done at higher intensity. Not great for bodybuilders as it is more catabolic but with protein taken before & after the session it should minimise catabolysis.
> 
> 6. Diet
> 
> I'm gonna keep this real simple - EAT CLEAN, EAT BIG - Try and eat every 3hrs to keep protein flowing through your body to provide a positive nitrogen balance and to keep your metabolic rate high.
> 
> Muscle growth - High Protein, High Complex Carbohydrates, Moderate Fat (good fats - flax seed oil, rape seed oil, etc)
> 
> Fat Loss - High Protein, Lower Complex Carb, Lower Fat.
> 
> To lose fat you need to use more calories than you consume. To gain muscle you need to raise the calories to a higher level than you would utilise. This means a little fat gain but with some gentle adjusting you'll find where your level is at. Aim for 1.5g of protein per Ib bodyweight for gaining & fat loss. 200Ib person would need 300g protein in diet per day for bodybuilding.
> 
> Worth going to the diet forum for specific diet advice as this is a BIG area.
> 
> Also remember to get protein in you before you go to bed, when you wake up and immediately after weights. This is when your body needs it most.
> 
> 7. Supplements
> 
> Food.
> 
> Good whey Protein supplement for post training & when you wake up.
> 
> That's it! As a beginner you are wasting money on all the muscle solutions, fat burners, etc that are out there as your body will change drastically with 6 months hard work. Once you have the basic platform then you can think about extra supplements. As for beginners thinking about steroids&#8230;. Forget it. They are for the serious & experienced Bodybuilder who has reached their natural limit. A get big quick solution may seem appealing to a novice but do not be tempted as you need to know what your body's limits are to use these effectively IMO.
> 
> Finally remember that bodybuilding is about getting a good balance between attitude/weight training/Rest/Cardio/Diet. If you neglect any of the areas I have mentioned so far then you are not fulfilling your natural potential.
> 
> Good luck and any questions you have feel free to post away&#8230;&#8230;
> 
> Likewise, if any of the experienced Bro's have anything to add (I'm sure there'll be plenty ) then please do so.
> 
> 8) Wear Comfortable clothing!
> 
> http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/bodybuilding-tshirt.asp
> 
> (This is a James Edit!)
> 
> --------------------------
> 
> Alternate Routine 1.
> 
> When you find that your strength & mass gains start to slow and you want to change the routine then you can try this one for size...
> 
> Chest/Shoulders/Tri
> 
> 5 Min warm-up
> 
> Dumbell Incline Bench - 5 sets 5 reps (very low incline)
> 
> Weighted Dips For Chest - 5 sets 5 reps
> 
> Seated Dumbell military press 5 sets 5 reps
> 
> Skull Crushers - 5 sets 5 reps (or close grip bench press)
> 
> Back/Trap/Bi
> 
> 5 min warm-up
> 
> Deadlifts 5 sets 5 reps
> 
> Wide Grip Chins 5 sets 5 reps
> 
> Bent Over Barbell Rows 3 sets 5 reps
> 
> Barbell Bicep curl 5 sets 5 reps (Strict Form!!!)
> 
> Incline seated dumbell curls 3 sets 5 reps (arguably this exercise can be cut out. Just listen to your body and decide how knackered your biceps are by this point)
> 
> Legs & Abs
> 
> 5 min warm-up
> 
> Barbell Squats 5x sets 5 reps
> 
> Stiff Legged Dead Lifts 5 sets 5 reps
> 
> Calf Raises 5 sets 5 reps (last set to fail)
> 
> Weighted Swiss Ball crunches 4x sets 6-8 reps
> 
> lying leg raises 4x sets 6-8 reps (if you can do these resisted tyhen even better.)
> 
> Dumbell side bends 3x sets 6-8 reps
> 
> I've put a combination in that will work you hard. Start to push yourself hard on the weight and on the 5x5 exercises don't worry if you can only do 2 reps on your last set. It's better that you work harder on your early sets and keep the weight the same on your later sets but drop the rep numbers as your muscle tires, than to drop the weight. When you can actually hit 5 sets of 5 reps then it's time to add some more weight. Your strength should progress nicely.
> 
> bit long but brilliant!!!!!! Made by Cashman on www.muscletalk.co.uk


Great read, helped alot, thanks!


----------



## Chris4Pez1436114538

interesting and good red just found it lol


----------



## Jaybo

I loved reading this...im a relatively new bodybuilder and its good to know what i was doing is pretty much on track...my passion for the sport has grown considerably over the last 3 months and it is becomming a lifestyle...

killerkeane you made some very good points too, very encouraging!

keep up the good work guys! 

Heres a quick summary of the work-out im doing... anyone with more experience than me please feel free to point things out where i can improve etc. THANKS! 

i know some of the method names are a bit vague but i couldnt for the life of me remember wtf they're called lol! 

day 1 -

LEGS -

squats - 3 x 10 on 100k

dead lifts - 3 x 10 on 80k

calf lifts - 3 x 10 on 100k

day 2 -

Back -

lats (pull downs) - 3 x 10 on 55k

bench lifts (each side individually) - 3 x 10 each side on 22k

Push-ups (bar over head) - 3 x 10 on 30k

Angle bench (inclined stand-ups) - 3 x 10

side pulls (individually) - 3 x 10 on 30k

day 3 -

Shoulders -

Butterfly lifts (together from the side out) - 3 x 10 on 8k

butterfly lift (individual + alternately angled) - 3 x 10 each side on 10k

shrugs - 3 x 10 on 30k

day 4 -

Pecks (+ tri's) -

Bench press - 12 x 40k, 8 x 50k, 8 x 50k, 6 x 60k - increase periodically

Internal butterfly (variable) - 3 x 10 on 30k & 15k

inclined dumbell presses - 3 x 10 on 22-26k

day 5 -

Arms -

Standing bar lift - 3 x 10 half way up, half way down & full range (30 reps total) on 15k

Standing bar on cable - 3 x 10 on 30k

S-bar - 3 x 10 on 25k

Dumbell lifts - 3 x 10 each side on 16k

day 6 -

CARDIO

day 7 - START AGAIN  )

the weights stated are going up every month or so..but thats where im at now


----------



## winger

Is day 1 Monday, day 2 Tuesday?

Or do you train every other day?

Also, welcome to the board mate!


----------



## AES

thank you


----------



## PokerGenius

this thread is gold


----------



## ANDY-D

BigGiver thats a great post mate ive been looking all weekend for tips on my training ect and your post gave me the answers in one go mate .... really helpful too us newbies :bounce:


----------



## winger

Sychokid said:


> Oh yeh, I forgot, I'm the guy who wrote this article Bigiver has posted, if anyone is wondering, it can be found here originally:
> 
> http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=101841
> 
> This guy didnt give me any credit, and changed around some of the words
> 
> Im glad you guys like it, Im fine with it being here, just without any citations from where this came from, people will claim its theres, etc
> 
> Take care everyone


I think this guy should get the credit for writing it and BigGiver should get credit for finding it here.

So it's a win, win for all. 

Once again, nice job Sychokid!


----------



## ANDY-D

lol good point winger


----------



## Cymru

Some great advice in this thread, especially in the first post. Really helped me get more of an idea about what sort of routine to get together


----------



## Blofeld

Big thumbs up, great reading for beginners like me!


----------



## Will MCMLXXXVII

Book marked this thread, great advice, thanks.


----------



## sonofwacky

aw man what a read great info


----------



## L-plates

This is all excellent information, especially to a complete novice like me!


----------



## lew86

I know this has been said alot already but this is a great post. Fantastic to refer back to. A great read,

Cheers Guys:thumb:


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## weightaddict

thanks so much for d wise words

finally i got some direction


----------



## Mark Longdon

Thanks for the advice now I feel I'm heading the right way, once again thanks for the excellent info/gen. :thumb:



BigGiver said:


> If your looking to slim down and lose the gut and/or gain some lean muscle, here is some information you might want to know.
> 
> "A BEGINNER's GUIDE TO BODYBUILDING"
> 
> MYTHS
> 
> *SPOT REDUCTION*
> 
> NO SUCH THING!!! Doing a hundred crunches will strengthen the abs, but won't do anything to the fat. Only through hard work, cardio, and a healthy diet will you achieve this.
> 
> *HIGHER REPS = MORE DEFINITION AND "TONENESS"*
> 
> The truth is, higher reps will NOT tone your muscles or make them more defined. Once again, this is having a low body fat %. Higher reps will work on endurance though and is great for some athletes and marathon runners.
> 
> *GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT*
> 
> When we all start out lifting, we have this lucky gift of being able to lose fat yet get muscle at the same time. Over time, this completely goes away. I notice a lot of posts are "oh my goals are to lose the old gut while getting my chest bigger...". This isn't going to happen unless you are a beginner (a.k.a newbie) or on steroids. Think about it. How can you gain muscle on a calorie deficit and/or lose fat on a calorie surplus? Once you feel you gotten to the point where you can no longer do the above, then you have a choice of doing a cutting or bulking phase.
> 
> *THE MORE THE BETTER (RIGHT?)*
> 
> Ever hear the phase "muscle grow outside the gym". Well, this phase fits in right here. When people first start out lifting, they tend to think that more is better. This is definatly not the case. Your muscles and body needs time to recover. Also, around an hour or so (differs from everyone), cortical is released from the body which can actually kill off muscle tissue and cause muscle catabalism. This can be prevented if you train smart. Do no more then a 5 day split training each muscle once a week (smaller ones twice most) and working out no more then an hour. Now don't get me wrong, everybody is different and people respond to different methods, principals, techniques, etc. But this most likely all you need to do. Most people say "oh, I'm training each body part 2x a week and only have one rest day and getting good results" but what they don't realize is that they aren't giving their body (central nervous system) full time to recover as well as their muscles. Even though muscles only need 48-72 hours to recover, they still don't recover fully which is why it benefits you to take a week off every 2-3 months.
> 
> *I DO CARDIO FOR MY LEG WORK..THAT'S ALL I NEED*
> 
> The truth is, legs also need heavy anaerobic sets just like the upper body. Running is to aerobic to call it a leg "mass builder". Besides, the best exercise known to us bodybuilders is for legs (SQUATS!). By the way, chicken legs and a huge upper body will look very unproportianal and kind of weird.
> 
> *I DIDN'T GET A PUMP OR WAS SORE THIS MORNING...*
> 
> "Pumps" and soreness in your muscles doesn't mean too much (for hypertrophy [ muscle growth]). I could get a good pump from picking a weight and lifting it for 100x. This will porbably deal way more with endurance then hypertrophy. Samething goes with soreness. The real way you can tell if your workouts are good is over time.
> 
> CUTTING
> 
> Now lets say your goal is to look nice and thin and get rid of the old gut and get abs by the summer times Here you are going too need to start reducing your calories, increasing protein, decreasing saturated fats and carbs.
> 
> DIET
> 
> Some diets where people got good results from: Atkins diet, keto diet
> 
> Here are some estimations to help you figure out your calories and protein needs:
> 
> Calories: bodyweight x 11-13
> 
> Protein: bodyweight x 1.2-1.4
> 
> The key here is too keep saturated fats in moderation. Don't totally eliminate them from your diet. You still need some. Also, don't go overboard with decreasing the carbs (unless you are on keto which requires you too). Depending on your metabolism, try to split this into 4-6 smaller meals over the course of the day.
> 
> CARDIO
> 
> You are also going to have to start doing some cardio. Start out with one short cardio session. By starting out with a lot of cardio days, you are only hurting yourself and looking for an injury. Each week, start increasing it until you get around 20-45 minutes. You might also want to look into HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio. Don't let the time (12-15 minutes) of these cardio sessions fool you. The sessions are very intense.
> 
> WEIGHT TRIANING
> 
> Training splits should stay the same. Like I said before, reps shouldn't go higher. I prefer a 3 day split while cutting because it is easier to fit in cardio and easier to recover while under a calorie deficit.
> 
> SUPPLEMENTS
> 
> Some good supplements too look are: whey protein, multi vitamins, glutamine, and fat burners (WARNING: only take a fat burner if you are in good cardiovascular condition and have good blood pressure with no history of bad cardiovascular health).
> 
> TIPS
> 
> A way you can minimize muscle loss is not decreasing the calories all over night. Don't just decrease your calories all in a day. Your body has to get used to what it has. Slowly decrease your calories by 200-300 each week until you get to your desired calories, carbs, and saturated fats.
> 
> BULKING
> 
> How many people out there no matter how hard they try, can't gain any muscle? There are a few reasons why this is so. Are you over training? Are you eating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? Etc.
> 
> DIET
> 
> Most people have a good workout, but ignore there diet. Like I said before, you must be eating. Take a look at these estimations:
> 
> Calories: bodyweight x 19-20
> 
> Protein: same as cutting
> 
> Keep carbs high too around 300-450 gram range (depending on bodyweight). If you limit saturated fats and bulk cleanly, you will limit the time you need to cut and minimizing muscle loss. Try to eat this in a matter of 5-7 meals.
> 
> TIPS
> 
> If you are getting too fat (do not do this if you aren't gaining at all) throw in a cardio session or two during the week.
> 
> If you are having trouble eating during class, eat a big breakfast and keep things that can be sealed like powerbars, peanuts, mrb shakes/bars in your locker.
> 
> www.fitday.com and www.calorieking.com are both great links for nutritional breakdown of certain specific foods.
> 
> WEIGHT TRAINING
> 
> Here I would recommend a 4-5 day split. There are a ton out there. Anyone will pretty much work as long as you are eating & sleeping enough, and not overtraining. Most people respond best to the 8-10 and 6-8 rep range. Some people respond better to lower reps like the 4-6 and/or higher reps like the 10-12. Anything lower then 4 IMO, is for strength gains,
> 
> SUPPLEMENTS
> 
> Some good supplements to look into are: whey protein, multivitamins, creatine, bcaa, liver tabs, zma and L-glutamine.
> 
> THE WORKOUT
> 
> When working out, you want to try and stick with heavy compound movements.
> 
> Back- Deadlifts, rowing movements, chinning/pull-ups
> 
> Legs- Squats, stiff legged deadlifts, calf raises
> 
> Shoulders - Shoulder presses (standing/seated, Arnold, DB/BB,etc) ISOLATION: raises
> 
> Chest - Bench press, Dips, ISOLATION flyes and crossovers
> 
> Biceps - Close-grip chinups, ISOLATION curls
> 
> Triceps - Close-grip bench press, skull crushers, ISOLATION tricep pushdowns
> 
> Traps- shrugs, upward row
> 
> Abs- weighted & decline crunches, hanging leg raises, lying side bends and twist crunches (obliques)
> 
> Here are some good websites for videos on proper form and exercises:
> 
> http://www.2-fit.com/video/index.html
> 
> http://www.theministryoffitness.com/exercises.htm
> 
> http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
> 
> Have a protein shake (Whey protein shake) and some sort of simple sugar like honey and/or dextrose after your workouts.
> 
> I recommend every month or two changing up your split. This will avoid a plateu when you no longer can gain anything. You can do something simple like superset or totally rearrange your split. Some great things to do are: pyramid (both up and down are good), supersets (and all variations), forced reps, down the rack, negatives (warm up properly before this), drop sets, etc. Bump up your calorie intake, protein, and carbs as well.
> 
> and also...
> 
> GET MOTIVATED!
> 
> Originally posted by Sychokid here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...threadid=101841
> 
> Author Sychokid


----------



## demon_m00se

Killerkeane, amazing article FTW


----------



## MarkM

I'm currently attempting a bulk, and was wondering if someone could give me an idea of how many g's of carbs I should be eating (i'm 6'0 and around 160 pounds). The range of 300-425 is quite a vast one.


----------



## Deadly SyN

Thanks for the tips!


----------



## Barker1863

> CUTTING
> 
> Now lets say your goal is to look nice and thin and get rid of the old gut and get abs by the summer times Here you are going too need to start reducing your calories, increasing protein, decreasing saturated fats and carbs.
> 
> *DIET*
> 
> *
> Some diets where people got good results from: Atkins diet, keto diet*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> Here are some estimations to help you figure out your calories and protein needs:*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> Calories: bodyweight x 11-13*
> 
> *
> Protein: bodyweight x 1.2-1.4*


so that's per day right? every day including the days i'm not training?


----------



## bmwmatt

I think so barker.. I've only just started training and I'm taking 2 servings of whey/weight gainpowder and only 1 on the rest days.. but I think I'm just trying to save my money lol


----------



## 7367wells

Thanks. Great to learn more. Useful information for us beginners, as said before!


----------



## tazzy-lee

great advice cheers guys


----------



## Ollie B

This is a brilliant thread. Useful


----------



## andreww60

I'm trying to bulk, but taking on loads of fat, and more so on my gut, how do I keep the fat down..?


----------



## andreww60

how do you keep fat down while bulking...


----------



## BassJunkie

andreww60 said:


> how do you keep fat down while bulking...


try posting your diet in the bulking section of the forum and explain that you are gaining a lot of fat and I am sure they could help.


----------



## THEUSUALSUSPECT

Ill give it a go


----------



## Jay.32

Great post and soun advise... nice 1


----------



## gregc

Awesome thread


----------



## billspaced

Yes, that's a very good article! Gives a TON of facts and information. Great bang for the buck, that's for sure.

Print it. Put it up somewhere so you don't forget it. May be the best advice you can get in such a small space!


----------



## billspaced

Believe it or not, you can drop a lot of fat the first 2 weeks of the South Beach diet. Then it gets kind of boring. But it's a great way to quickly drop some fat in preparation for another growth phase.


----------



## billspaced

In response to the "cutting" portion of the original article, I will say this:

Believe it or not, you can drop a lot of fat the first 2 weeks of the South Beach diet. Then it gets kind of boring. But it's a great way to quickly drop some fat in preparation for another growth phase.


----------



## Mad_Rambo

Now this is good, alot of stuff i didnt actually realise, well i will be reffering to this alot, thanks alot for this =)


----------



## darbs

Hi All,,

I dont pretend to be an expert, but when beginning you should not worry too much about putting on a little bit of fat. You need to tip the balance to put on weight and putting on some fat is unavoiable in my opinion. However, its finding the the correct ratio of muscle and fat. There is little point taking on 600grams of carbs per day and loads of fat, if you only weigh 11 stone..That said, some hardgainers can eat and eat and never grow, so each individual is different.

I would recommend that you clean your diet up, but keep the carbs, pro and fats at a level which promote growth. This would be a starting point to work from, and then take it up or down according yo how you are looking in mirror -

Carbs - 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of body weight

Pro - 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of bodyweight

Fats - 0.5 - 1 gram per pound of bodyweight

Diet is the key, so get some sort of structure through the week and relax it a bit over weekend. Aim for 6-7 meals per day, which will not only allow the body to digest the protein and carbs but also rev up your metabalism.

Train hard, eat and sleep


----------



## winger

darbs said:


> Hi All,,
> 
> I dont pretend to be an expert, but when beginning you should not worry too much about putting on a little bit of fat. You need to tip the balance to put on weight and putting on some fat is unavoiable in my opinion. However, its finding the the correct ratio of muscle and fat. There is little point taking on 600grams of carbs per day and loads of fat, if you only weigh 11 stone..That said, some hardgainers can eat and eat and never grow, so each individual is different.
> 
> I would recommend that you clean your diet up, but keep the carbs, pro and fats at a level which promote growth. This would be a starting point to work from, and then take it up or down according yo how you are looking in mirror -
> 
> Carbs - 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of body weight
> 
> Pro - 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of bodyweight
> 
> Fats - 0.5 - 1 gram per pound of bodyweight
> 
> Diet is the key, so get some sort of structure through the week and relax it a bit over weekend. Aim for 6-7 meals per day, which will not only allow the body to digest the protein and carbs but also rev up your metabalism.
> 
> Train hard, eat and sleep


All good info! :thumb:


----------



## fakii

nice man ... as em not a newbie but still very usefull info. keep up the good work .


----------



## joe19

hi im 19 and i want to gain muscle mass quite quick whats the best way to do this ?


----------



## KINGKONG24

Didnt know cardio before breakfast was the best way to burn fat!!!

Is this true?


----------



## winger

KINGKONG24 said:


> Didnt know cardio before breakfast was the best way to burn fat!!!
> 
> Is this true?


They do say that. Some also take in some BCAA and some coffee pre cardio morning workout.


----------



## stevep1941

great article mate specially for a newbie like me to read, alot of what was in it im doing now which is good cause it means im doing what I should be. :thumb:


----------



## Myst

Definitely without a doubt the best bodybuilding information ever written.

"Most people have a good workout, but ignore *there* diet."

Can the thread starter please fix that to say "their".

I am not a grammer nazi, it's just I've read alot of amatuer **** on the web over the years and for me the trademark of biased, bad, amatuer writing is any and all kinds of spelling, grammar mistakes etc.

Btw big reps for posting the thread.

Awesome, thx.


----------



## Jay.32

BigGiver said:


> If your looking to slim down and lose the gut and/or gain some lean muscle, here is some information you might want to know.
> 
> "A BEGINNER's GUIDE TO BODYBUILDING"
> 
> MYTHS
> 
> *SPOT REDUCTION*
> 
> NO SUCH THING!!! Doing a hundred crunches will strengthen the abs, but won't do anything to the fat. Only through hard work, cardio, and a healthy diet will you achieve this.
> 
> *HIGHER REPS = MORE DEFINITION AND "TONENESS"*
> 
> The truth is, higher reps will NOT tone your muscles or make them more defined. Once again, this is having a low body fat %. Higher reps will work on endurance though and is great for some athletes and marathon runners.
> 
> *GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT*
> 
> When we all start out lifting, we have this lucky gift of being able to lose fat yet get muscle at the same time. Over time, this completely goes away. I notice a lot of posts are "oh my goals are to lose the old gut while getting my chest bigger...". This isn't going to happen unless you are a beginner (a.k.a newbie) or on steroids. Think about it. How can you gain muscle on a calorie deficit and/or lose fat on a calorie surplus? Once you feel you gotten to the point where you can no longer do the above, then you have a choice of doing a cutting or bulking phase.
> 
> *THE MORE THE BETTER (RIGHT?)*
> 
> Ever hear the phase "muscle grow outside the gym". Well, this phase fits in right here. When people first start out lifting, they tend to think that more is better. This is definatly not the case. Your muscles and body needs time to recover. Also, around an hour or so (differs from everyone), cortical is released from the body which can actually kill off muscle tissue and cause muscle catabalism. This can be prevented if you train smart. Do no more then a 5 day split training each muscle once a week (smaller ones twice most) and working out no more then an hour. Now don't get me wrong, everybody is different and people respond to different methods, principals, techniques, etc. But this most likely all you need to do. Most people say "oh, I'm training each body part 2x a week and only have one rest day and getting good results" but what they don't realize is that they aren't giving their body (central nervous system) full time to recover as well as their muscles. Even though muscles only need 48-72 hours to recover, they still don't recover fully which is why it benefits you to take a week off every 2-3 months.
> 
> *I DO CARDIO FOR MY LEG WORK..THAT'S ALL I NEED*
> 
> The truth is, legs also need heavy anaerobic sets just like the upper body. Running is to aerobic to call it a leg "mass builder". Besides, the best exercise known to us bodybuilders is for legs (SQUATS!). By the way, chicken legs and a huge upper body will look very unproportianal and kind of weird.
> 
> *I DIDN'T GET A PUMP OR WAS SORE THIS MORNING...*
> 
> "Pumps" and soreness in your muscles doesn't mean too much (for hypertrophy [ muscle growth]). I could get a good pump from picking a weight and lifting it for 100x. This will porbably deal way more with endurance then hypertrophy. Samething goes with soreness. The real way you can tell if your workouts are good is over time.
> 
> CUTTING
> 
> Now lets say your goal is to look nice and thin and get rid of the old gut and get abs by the summer times Here you are going too need to start reducing your calories, increasing protein, decreasing saturated fats and carbs.
> 
> DIET
> 
> Some diets where people got good results from: Atkins diet, keto diet
> 
> Here are some estimations to help you figure out your calories and protein needs:
> 
> Calories: bodyweight x 11-13
> 
> Protein: bodyweight x 1.2-1.4
> 
> The key here is too keep saturated fats in moderation. Don't totally eliminate them from your diet. You still need some. Also, don't go overboard with decreasing the carbs (unless you are on keto which requires you too). Depending on your metabolism, try to split this into 4-6 smaller meals over the course of the day.
> 
> CARDIO
> 
> You are also going to have to start doing some cardio. Start out with one short cardio session. By starting out with a lot of cardio days, you are only hurting yourself and looking for an injury. Each week, start increasing it until you get around 20-45 minutes. You might also want to look into HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio. Don't let the time (12-15 minutes) of these cardio sessions fool you. The sessions are very intense.
> 
> WEIGHT TRIANING
> 
> Training splits should stay the same. Like I said before, reps shouldn't go higher. I prefer a 3 day split while cutting because it is easier to fit in cardio and easier to recover while under a calorie deficit.
> 
> SUPPLEMENTS
> 
> Some good supplements too look are: whey protein, multi vitamins, glutamine, and fat burners (WARNING: only take a fat burner if you are in good cardiovascular condition and have good blood pressure with no history of bad cardiovascular health).
> 
> TIPS
> 
> A way you can minimize muscle loss is not decreasing the calories all over night. Don't just decrease your calories all in a day. Your body has to get used to what it has. Slowly decrease your calories by 200-300 each week until you get to your desired calories, carbs, and saturated fats.
> 
> BULKING
> 
> How many people out there no matter how hard they try, can't gain any muscle? There are a few reasons why this is so. Are you over training? Are you eating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? Etc.
> 
> DIET
> 
> Most people have a good workout, but ignore there diet. Like I said before, you must be eating. Take a look at these estimations:
> 
> Calories: bodyweight x 19-20
> 
> Protein: same as cutting
> 
> Keep carbs high too around 300-450 gram range (depending on bodyweight). If you limit saturated fats and bulk cleanly, you will limit the time you need to cut and minimizing muscle loss. Try to eat this in a matter of 5-7 meals.
> 
> TIPS
> 
> If you are getting too fat (do not do this if you aren't gaining at all) throw in a cardio session or two during the week.
> 
> If you are having trouble eating during class, eat a big breakfast and keep things that can be sealed like powerbars, peanuts, mrb shakes/bars in your locker.
> 
> www.fitday.com and www.calorieking.com are both great links for nutritional breakdown of certain specific foods.
> 
> WEIGHT TRAINING
> 
> Here I would recommend a 4-5 day split. There are a ton out there. Anyone will pretty much work as long as you are eating & sleeping enough, and not overtraining. Most people respond best to the 8-10 and 6-8 rep range. Some people respond better to lower reps like the 4-6 and/or higher reps like the 10-12. Anything lower then 4 IMO, is for strength gains,
> 
> SUPPLEMENTS
> 
> Some good supplements to look into are: whey protein, multivitamins, creatine, bcaa, liver tabs, zma and L-glutamine.
> 
> THE WORKOUT
> 
> When working out, you want to try and stick with heavy compound movements.
> 
> Back- Deadlifts, rowing movements, chinning/pull-ups
> 
> Legs- Squats, stiff legged deadlifts, calf raises
> 
> Shoulders - Shoulder presses (standing/seated, Arnold, DB/BB,etc) ISOLATION: raises
> 
> Chest - Bench press, Dips, ISOLATION flyes and crossovers
> 
> Biceps - Close-grip chinups, ISOLATION curls
> 
> Triceps - Close-grip bench press, skull crushers, ISOLATION tricep pushdowns
> 
> Traps- shrugs, upward row
> 
> Abs- weighted & decline crunches, hanging leg raises, lying side bends and twist crunches (obliques)
> 
> Here are some good websites for videos on proper form and exercises:
> 
> http://www.2-fit.com/video/index.html
> 
> http://www.theministryoffitness.com/exercises.htm
> 
> http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
> 
> Have a protein shake (Whey protein shake) and some sort of simple sugar like honey and/or dextrose after your workouts.
> 
> I recommend every month or two changing up your split. This will avoid a plateu when you no longer can gain anything. You can do something simple like superset or totally rearrange your split. Some great things to do are: pyramid (both up and down are good), supersets (and all variations), forced reps, down the rack, negatives (warm up properly before this), drop sets, etc. Bump up your calorie intake, protein, and carbs as well.
> 
> and also...
> 
> GET MOTIVATED!
> 
> Originally posted by Sychokid here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...threadid=101841
> 
> Author Sychokid


 Good read:thumbup1:


----------



## Myst

AHHH one more thing.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...threadid=101841

that link doesn't work and I know why.

When the thread starter copied and pasted that link he copied it wrong.

I've seen this happen before.

Thread starter can you please fix?

2 more mistakes to fix



> This will *porbably* deal way more with endurance then hypertrophy. *Samething*


----------



## kev-09

great read thanks.


----------



## cellaratt

Myst said:


> AHHH one more thing.
> 
> http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...threadid=101841
> 
> that link doesn't work and I know why.
> 
> When the thread starter copied and pasted that link he copied it wrong.
> 
> I've seen this happen before.
> 
> Thread starter can you please fix?
> 
> 2 more mistakes to fix


Can we all send you a copy of our post for you to edit before we post them...Get over yourself...if your gonna take the time to correct everyone's mistakes, you won't have time to learn anything about bodybuilding...I'm sure you can find a forum for perfect writers of the english language if you just look hard enough...


----------



## Myst

I just noticed them as I read it. I read the whole thing.

What is your problem?

I point it out so they can be fixed.

I am not complaining and I am not being rude either.


----------



## winger

Myst said:


> I just noticed them as I read it. I read the whole thing.
> 
> What is your problem?
> 
> I point it out so they can be fixed.
> 
> I am not complaining and I am not being rude either.


I didn't take it rude, but you sure have a lot of red on your rep points so maybe you made someone mad along the way. :whistling:


----------



## Myst

Nope, all (2 of them) come from one thread I made a while back asking for peoples msn.

I didn't know that you can't private message on this board... and I ... worded the thread in a funny way.


----------



## winger

You do know that you can click on any person on the board and add to their blog, so you can either pm them or pm them in a public way.


----------



## Myst

> You do know that you can click on any person on the board and add to their blog, so you can either pm them or pm them in a public way.


THX!

I was wondering about that.

*reps you* 

Edit: do I need 50 posts to be able to leave a message in your blog?


----------



## dog5566

very good read, love it,,


----------



## stickman

When you say bodyweight... are we talking pounds, kilos or what?


----------



## THEUSUALSUSPECT

sounds good


----------



## musclebuilder01

hey im a beginner to the whole body building, but keen any tips for beginner?

--------------------

www.musclebuildingblog101.blogspot.com


----------



## dasheleboopi

this thing about cortical i was never aware of this before i read this post, i normally stay at the gym for an hour and a half 10-15 mins cardio and the rest weights.

does this hour rule only apply to the amount of time doing weights? could i still do my cardio then an hour of weights or is it an hour of excercise all together?


----------



## -Jack-

THE MORE THE BETTER (RIGHT?)

Also, around an hour or so (differs from everyone), cortical is released from the body which can actually kill off muscle tissue and cause muscle catabalism. This can be prevented if you train smart. Do no more then a 5 day split training each muscle once a week (smaller ones twice most) and working out no more then an hour. Now don't get me wrong, everybody is different and people respond to different methods, principals, techniques, etc. But this most likely all you need to do. Most people say "oh, I'm training each body part 2x a week and only have one rest day and getting good results" but what they don't realize is that they aren't giving their body (central nervous system) full time to recover as well as their muscles. Even though muscles only need 48-72 hours to recover, they still don't recover fully which is why it benefits you to take a week off every 2-3 months.

This part is a little complicated for me can some one explain it bullet points or something thanks?


----------



## dasheleboopi

-Jack- said:


> MORE IS BETTER RIGHT
> 
> This part is a little complicated for me can some one explain it bullet points or something thanks?


i need help with this too this cortical thing is confusing me i mean does it only apply to wiehg training or to cardio too?


----------



## Ineisa

Thanks very much for this, very helpful! ;-)


----------



## chicklet65

:thumb: :thumb : :thumb: :thumb :

This is a great thread - I've definately gained lots of info from this to start my training. I'm moving from long-distance running which helped me loose the weight, but not great for definition.

Now, I'm armed with lots of info to get my "cutting" training right. Thanks to everyone that has contributed :thumbup1:


----------



## ROAMMEO

hi im new to body building . ive only been lifting for about 7 months . i now feel like ive hit a wall because i dnt seem to be getting any bigger . any advise that might help me would be great . thanks .


----------



## Min-ti

Nice one, thanks


----------



## kingjumb

Good info man, that has helped me alot. MOTIVATION IS A BIG FACTOR YEH.


----------



## Godly

Great post, cheers!


----------



## stevie_C

Top banana this chaps, spot on, thanks.


----------



## fakii

thnx man its really helpfull


----------



## nickster

Some great advice here. Thanks!!!


----------



## marksbananas

BigGiver said:


> Here are some estimations to help you figure out your calories and protein needs:
> 
> Calories: bodyweight x 11-13
> 
> Protein: bodyweight x 1.2-1.4
> 
> The key here is too keep saturated fats in moderation. Don't totally eliminate them from your diet. You still need some. Also, don't go overboard with decreasing the carbs (unless you are on keto which requires you too). Depending on your metabolism, try to split this into 4-6 smaller meals over the course of the day.


Total newbee question this is an excellent guide and i was wondering if the bodyweight above was measured in KG or lbs? i know you might think this is a stupid question but not sure Cheers


----------



## BobbyNoMuscles

Fantastic post, thankyou very much. Can anyone give some tried and tested examples of supplements and I'd really appreciate it if someone could point me in the direction of a good example cutting diet?



marksbananas said:


> Total newbee question this is an excellent guide and i was wondering if the bodyweight above was measured in KG or lbs? i know you might think this is a stupid question but not sure Cheers


I would've appreciated it if someone had have spelled it out for us too, but from some basic calculations I'm assuming your bodyweight must be measured in lb's before the multiplication. And (the calories is pretty straight forward) I think the product you get for the protein calculation is grams.


----------



## scifunk

Thanks to those who took the time to post this information. I can see where I have gone wrong before. Time to do it correctly.


----------



## Crixus

I want to gain about a stone in muscle and have been told to get myself some protein supplements and creatine.

The prob is that i dont know which site i should get them from.

I have come across a few sites such as:

http://www.monstersupplements.com

http://www.superfit.com

http://www.vigour.co.uk

Please advise??


----------



## stuartcarling

BigGiver said:


> If your looking to slim down and lose the gut and/or gain some lean muscle, here is some information you might want to know.
> 
> "A BEGINNER's GUIDE TO BODYBUILDING"
> 
> MYTHS
> 
> *SPOT REDUCTION*
> 
> NO SUCH THING!!! Doing a hundred crunches will strengthen the abs, but won't do anything to the fat. Only through hard work, cardio, and a healthy diet will you achieve this.
> 
> *HIGHER REPS = MORE DEFINITION AND "TONENESS"*
> 
> The truth is, higher reps will NOT tone your muscles or make them more defined. Once again, this is having a low body fat %. Higher reps will work on endurance though and is great for some athletes and marathon runners.
> 
> *GAIN MUSCLE AND LOSE FAT*
> 
> When we all start out lifting, we have this lucky gift of being able to lose fat yet get muscle at the same time. Over time, this completely goes away. I notice a lot of posts are "oh my goals are to lose the old gut while getting my chest bigger...". This isn't going to happen unless you are a beginner (a.k.a newbie) or on steroids. Think about it. How can you gain muscle on a calorie deficit and/or lose fat on a calorie surplus? Once you feel you gotten to the point where you can no longer do the above, then you have a choice of doing a cutting or bulking phase.
> 
> *THE MORE THE BETTER (RIGHT?)*
> 
> Ever hear the phase "muscle grow outside the gym". Well, this phase fits in right here. When people first start out lifting, they tend to think that more is better. This is definatly not the case. Your muscles and body needs time to recover. Also, around an hour or so (differs from everyone), cortical is released from the body which can actually kill off muscle tissue and cause muscle catabalism. This can be prevented if you train smart. Do no more then a 5 day split training each muscle once a week (smaller ones twice most) and working out no more then an hour. Now don't get me wrong, everybody is different and people respond to different methods, principals, techniques, etc. But this most likely all you need to do. Most people say "oh, I'm training each body part 2x a week and only have one rest day and getting good results" but what they don't realize is that they aren't giving their body (central nervous system) full time to recover as well as their muscles. Even though muscles only need 48-72 hours to recover, they still don't recover fully which is why it benefits you to take a week off every 2-3 months.
> 
> *I DO CARDIO FOR MY LEG WORK..THAT'S ALL I NEED*
> 
> The truth is, legs also need heavy anaerobic sets just like the upper body. Running is to aerobic to call it a leg "mass builder". Besides, the best exercise known to us bodybuilders is for legs (SQUATS!). By the way, chicken legs and a huge upper body will look very unproportianal and kind of weird.
> 
> *I DIDN'T GET A PUMP OR WAS SORE THIS MORNING...*
> 
> "Pumps" and soreness in your muscles doesn't mean too much (for hypertrophy [ muscle growth]). I could get a good pump from picking a weight and lifting it for 100x. This will porbably deal way more with endurance then hypertrophy. Samething goes with soreness. The real way you can tell if your workouts are good is over time.
> 
> CUTTING
> 
> Now lets say your goal is to look nice and thin and get rid of the old gut and get abs by the summer times Here you are going too need to start reducing your calories, increasing protein, decreasing saturated fats and carbs.
> 
> DIET
> 
> Some diets where people got good results from: Atkins diet, keto diet
> 
> Here are some estimations to help you figure out your calories and protein needs:
> 
> Calories: bodyweight x 11-13
> 
> Protein: bodyweight x 1.2-1.4
> 
> The key here is too keep saturated fats in moderation. Don't totally eliminate them from your diet. You still need some. Also, don't go overboard with decreasing the carbs (unless you are on keto which requires you too). Depending on your metabolism, try to split this into 4-6 smaller meals over the course of the day.
> 
> CARDIO
> 
> You are also going to have to start doing some cardio. Start out with one short cardio session. By starting out with a lot of cardio days, you are only hurting yourself and looking for an injury. Each week, start increasing it until you get around 20-45 minutes. You might also want to look into HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio. Don't let the time (12-15 minutes) of these cardio sessions fool you. The sessions are very intense.
> 
> WEIGHT TRIANING
> 
> Training splits should stay the same. Like I said before, reps shouldn't go higher. I prefer a 3 day split while cutting because it is easier to fit in cardio and easier to recover while under a calorie deficit.
> 
> SUPPLEMENTS
> 
> Some good supplements too look are: whey protein, multi vitamins, glutamine, and fat burners (WARNING: only take a fat burner if you are in good cardiovascular condition and have good blood pressure with no history of bad cardiovascular health).
> 
> TIPS
> 
> A way you can minimize muscle loss is not decreasing the calories all over night. Don't just decrease your calories all in a day. Your body has to get used to what it has. Slowly decrease your calories by 200-300 each week until you get to your desired calories, carbs, and saturated fats.
> 
> BULKING
> 
> How many people out there no matter how hard they try, can't gain any muscle? There are a few reasons why this is so. Are you over training? Are you eating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? Etc.
> 
> DIET
> 
> Most people have a good workout, but ignore there diet. Like I said before, you must be eating. Take a look at these estimations:
> 
> Calories: bodyweight x 19-20
> 
> Protein: same as cutting
> 
> Keep carbs high too around 300-450 gram range (depending on bodyweight). If you limit saturated fats and bulk cleanly, you will limit the time you need to cut and minimizing muscle loss. Try to eat this in a matter of 5-7 meals.
> 
> TIPS
> 
> If you are getting too fat (do not do this if you aren't gaining at all) throw in a cardio session or two during the week.
> 
> If you are having trouble eating during class, eat a big breakfast and keep things that can be sealed like powerbars, peanuts, mrb shakes/bars in your locker.
> 
> www.fitday.com and www.calorieking.com are both great links for nutritional breakdown of certain specific foods.
> 
> WEIGHT TRAINING
> 
> Here I would recommend a 4-5 day split. There are a ton out there. Anyone will pretty much work as long as you are eating & sleeping enough, and not overtraining. Most people respond best to the 8-10 and 6-8 rep range. Some people respond better to lower reps like the 4-6 and/or higher reps like the 10-12. Anything lower then 4 IMO, is for strength gains,
> 
> SUPPLEMENTS
> 
> Some good supplements to look into are: whey protein, multivitamins, creatine, bcaa, liver tabs, zma and L-glutamine.
> 
> THE WORKOUT
> 
> When working out, you want to try and stick with heavy compound movements.
> 
> Back- Deadlifts, rowing movements, chinning/pull-ups
> 
> Legs- Squats, stiff legged deadlifts, calf raises
> 
> Shoulders - Shoulder presses (standing/seated, Arnold, DB/BB,etc) ISOLATION: raises
> 
> Chest - Bench press, Dips, ISOLATION flyes and crossovers
> 
> Biceps - Close-grip chinups, ISOLATION curls
> 
> Triceps - Close-grip bench press, skull crushers, ISOLATION tricep pushdowns
> 
> Traps- shrugs, upward row
> 
> Abs- weighted & decline crunches, hanging leg raises, lying side bends and twist crunches (obliques)
> 
> Here are some good websites for videos on proper form and exercises:
> 
> http://www.2-fit.com/video/index.html
> 
> http://www.theministryoffitness.com/exercises.htm
> 
> http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
> 
> Have a protein shake (Whey protein shake) and some sort of simple sugar like honey and/or dextrose after your workouts.
> 
> I recommend every month or two changing up your split. This will avoid a plateu when you no longer can gain anything. You can do something simple like superset or totally rearrange your split. Some great things to do are: pyramid (both up and down are good), supersets (and all variations), forced reps, down the rack, negatives (warm up properly before this), drop sets, etc. Bump up your calorie intake, protein, and carbs as well.
> 
> and also...
> 
> GET MOTIVATED!
> 
> Originally posted by Sychokid here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...threadid=101841
> 
> Author Sychokid


Hi,

I'm just starting although I have lifted weights for 25 years. I am especially wek on my bicept curls, only 40 Kgs and Max 80 Kgs bench press although I feel better doing 60 K gs. I have never paid any attention to my diet. At the moment I am about 14stones 7 lbs and 5' 8" tall. I have contacted Martyn Yates Brown who has agreed to mentor me with my first phase being 12 weeks. My arms are only 12 3/4" and Chest 44" so there is a massive amount of work to do. But with Marty I know that he is an excellent coach and for me at 54 years It will be my first bodybuilding coach.


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## Evileddie

Great read, really helped me as i think i have been over training... I thought if i trained different body parts everyday( 5 ays ) i would be fine but i was wrong, i from now on will get REST instead of sploiling my hard work.


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## cage

Great post mate. Im just starting out and this explains it without the mumbo jumbo and jargon that only people who been liftin for ages can understand.

Thanx


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## micktherepman

Great posts all round. So so many key things discussed from Diet To Workouts. Advice i wished someone had told me rather than trying to emulate the pros workouts lol !

For what its worth, one of the single most effective techniques i ever learnt was switching from machines to free weights and generally changing the order and frequency of exercises so as to keep the body guessing and the muscles growing.

Check out this article in relation to the same thing re Arms:

http://madformuscle.com/build-arms-best-bicep-exercises-best-tricep-exercises


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## jonnycaps

got some good info from this. cheers


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## micktherepman

Biceps - Close-grip chinups, ISOLATION curls

Triceps - Close-grip bench press, skull crushers, ISOLATION tricep pushdowns

and also...

GET MOTIVATED!

Originally posted by Sychokid here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...threadid=101841

Author Sychokid


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## jay631

Awesome post thanks


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## Guest

magic post cheers


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## I Punched A Cow

Thanks for this, now I feel like I can sit down and write out my weekly workouts. Before reading this I was a little dubious about setting up my own routines as I didnt know the name of anything and or which exercises to use.

Thanks

Ryan


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## CoffeeFiend

Lmfao i saw I punched a cow and shot in here expecting the funniest thread of the day.. but then realised its a dudes name :/


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## Casual_jr

Thanks for this, I am just getting into weight lifting and this advice has helped me alot!

Once again thanks.


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## Richard D

Keep things simple, doing to much at first, you never can tell what is working for you.

Stick to basic exercises, feel the movement and contraction and stretch of the muscle.

Really watch what your eating, keep the fats and sugars low, with enough quality protein for your body weight.

Basic carbs for your energy, ie brown rice, pasta, baked pots etc, porridge, and most importantly lots of water.

Train hard, make sure you increase the weight when you can, and rest days, make sure you have them.

All the best.........


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## IrishRaver

"I've put a combination in that will work you hard. Start to push yourself hard on the weight and on the 5x5 exercises don't worry if you can only do 2 reps on your last set. It's better that you work harder on your early sets and keep the weight the same on your later sets but drop the rep numbers as your muscle tires, than to drop the weight. When you can actually hit 5 sets of 5 reps then it's time to add some more weight. Your strength should progress nicely."

Awesome post.. cleared one thing up for me in this quoted paragraph. I'll be adding weight to most of my exercises to see sure I don't hit the complete 5x5 now


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## IrishRaver

Richard D said:


> Keep things simple, doing to much at first, you never can tell what is working for you.
> 
> Stick to basic exercises, feel the movement and contraction and stretch of the muscle.
> 
> Really watch what your eating, keep the *fats* and sugars low, with enough quality protein for your body weight.
> 
> Basic carbs for your energy, ie brown rice, pasta, baked pots etc, porridge, and most importantly lots of water.
> 
> Train hard, make sure you increase the weight when you can, and rest days, make sure you have them.
> 
> All the best.........


Keep the fats low if you don't want any extra strength balance. Increased fat intake does add to strength and aids muscle growth. Even Dorian backs this up


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## Hampy71

marksbananas said:


> Total newbee question this is an excellent guide and i was wondering if the bodyweight above was measured in KG or lbs? i know you might think this is a stupid question but not sure Cheers


Pounds mate. If you times your bw in kilos by 11 then chances are your calorie intake would read less than 1000!!!


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## PITBULL

This is a great to stay on here for beginners, thanks for the enjoyable read


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## Tommo2011

Just read this from start too finish word for word, best post ive read.

helped me loads


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## JusNoGood

This has been a huge help. I've been going to the gym on and off for 20yrs and nit really achieving anything but temporary fitness and fat loss. Being given the facts and guidance like this has helped hugely.

I'm 41 5'11 and 13st 6. I've been going to the gym now and following the diet for about 2 months and i am toning up and feeling the best I've done for years. Still early days but I feel this is a turning point for permanent health for me.

Only problems I have now is that it's taken over my life...I love it with a passion and only think about the next workout...I wish I had a young persons body again... my body just can't do cardio every day...I do two days on, one day off, one day on, one day off then two days on. Hoping to build up strength in my legs to increase the sessions 

This forum has helped massively with motivation. I'm avidly reading almost every hr of the day. It's inspired me to get to the gym at 630am and give up sweets, cakes and more importantly wine...never thought id say that!

Anyway, great thread, wonderful forum and stunning set of people. Got to go...gym opens in 54mins


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## lukempt

This is a brilliant article for any newbie trainers. I'd also recommend getting hold of a copy of "A week in the Dungeon" it'll give you loads of motivation and show you everything you need to know about training - focus, form and adding a brick to building "your house" in every session you do. It'll also make you realise quickly that it's quality and not always quantity that will give you top results.


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## connor_199

Thanks, good read!


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## Jamie07

Awesome post really informational for me


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## nlc

Good info thanks


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## Holbroom1986

really awesome information, just what i need to get started as a beginner, much appreciated!


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## evil leprechaun

what will happen if i combine fat stripper with d-bol anyone plz :0)


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## Fat

This is definitely a good read for beginners, thanks!


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## petebarnes16

ANY GOOD WOKOUTS FOR HOME MUSCLE TONE DEF with just dumbells a pushup pro v2 and a bench ??


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## Dan Ward

man u guys have taught me more in the last 5mins than any mag could of


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## petebarnes16

winger said:


> Cool I like the way you think. I like the way you have the ability to find your posts on other boards.
> 
> I am glad that he posted your info. It is the same stuff I have been saying for years. Wow I am even more impressed than ever.


Just done a great power 3 set multi sholder hour feel great , protein shake taken sat at comp now lol


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## petebarnes16

been doing sit up cruches so on for abbs , and stil got slight belly any good routines supps !!?


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## badly_dubbed

Sit ups won't gt rid of your belly....diet will though


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## petebarnes16

badly_dubbed said:


> Sit ups won't gt rid of your belly....diet will though


Thanks mate not doing to bad belly going down lots since i started to eat more times a day and more fruit, and bits of chicked in between, seems the more little meals you eat per day the more i loose, chest starting to shape up now, but wish it were a little firmer.

cheers all


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## petebarnes16

Anyone know if i am better taking Cyclone as supp instead of promax as i only take promax at this time , and some promax snacks to. Cyclone seems to have more things in it, but i am totaly blind on supps , dizzy from reading up on them.


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## teekah

Hello, im new to this forum and was wondering how can I start a forum thread? I am a male and was 19 stone but have now cut down to 16 1/2 however I am sick of the cardio and want to do weights and cardio. Someone told me SD matrix will help me.Im hoping to reduce the tyre and increase the muscle at the same time. Can this be done together? Please help???? Any supplement? I am currently using Gaspari Max pre workout


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## jgray

Hi Guys,

I am new to all this, I have the following daily routine and wondered if their is something anyone can suggest.

Diet -

Breakfast- All Bran or wholewheat toast,

Lunch- Chicken breast, brown rice and veg, or tuna and wholemeal pasta and veg,

Dinner- Same as above

Workouts- 40 mins cardio and 30 mins lifting.

Is my diet good? can anyone help me with a plan? maybe some new meal ideas?

Cheers guys,

James.


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## flymotto

Great tips for beginners starting out on muscle building! I've been trying to lose my gut, but just found out that situps don't help! Guess I'll have to concentrate more on my diet and cardio exercise


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## LFCTH

Fantastic post major reps


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## Jenny_Lou

This is fantastic, for a beginner this is great and sound advice. Thank you.


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## be-warrior

Wow, nice!

its very very imporant article should evry beginner to read it

thanks


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## Phill_Avfc

Hi, i am new to all of this

i have recently been really ill and now i am trying bulk up and get cut

but i am really struggling to set up a workout routine

i have access to a multi gym -

This Everlast home gym provides a fantastic, value for money way to workout in your own home. The 50kg weight stack provides the possibility for a tough session. Practise a variety of exercises to strengthen and tone arm, leg and core muscles.

•	Weight stack 50kg providing 110kg maximum resistance.

•	Bench press.

•	Butterfly press.

•	Pec dec.

•	Leg extension.

•	Double ratio pulley system.

•	Maximum user weight 110kg (17st 5lb).

and a treadmill and i am also looking into to sorting out free weights

any help would be much appreciated.

i am 20, 5ft 10, 10st 6

Thanks


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## Inseminator

The inseminator has joined the site. Train to get aesthetic so every bird wants to get inseminated by you.


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## PumpedKrum1

very good advice, relay appreciate it!


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## frankie1905

Thanks learned quite a bit from that much appreciated :thumb:


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## Jord1109

Great information mate!


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## aman_21

would 5x5 be okay to cut with?


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## LiamMc24

Quick question, for a 6 ft 2 male. How many calories should I be consuming a day? I am 12st 4 at the minute. Thanks


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## LiamMc24

12 st 3*


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## BruceT

This should help you

http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/


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## captin jack

Hello!!!

Newbie is here I've just jumped in 

The thread is good and I assume that writer is awesome thanx

I want to join the gym but few questions in my mind still holding me up and I would appreciate any help to clear them

First of all my hieght is : 185CM and my weight is :65 Kg (these are as far as I'm concern as I checked last time but would be much different if there's,maybe 60 kg for the weight)

I had a hip fracture back in 2007 and a joint dislocation in my left shoulder.Now I'm fine but my leg "hip" doesn't move free because it's not in it's original position

So I read you can either :

1- bulk with fat

2-bulk pure muscles not fatty

3-cutting up or shred (if they both similar)

I'm interested in having big muscles with low fat like those self deffence game players but I dont know what style should I follow

*Should I for the second option is that's possible for my case or I have to follow the first them start cutting down *

*
*

what's the best way to follow and for the mentioned injuries will they effect my muscles shaping process due to their weakness

I hope to hear from you and get some guides

and excuses me for any points that's not clear I'm not native English dude

Thanx a bunch


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## PurpleOnes

Great thread with a lot of good information that I will be using.

I knew most of the stuff but still found some needed information also :thumbup1:


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## SE254EVA

Good thread!!

:clap:


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## Dixon819

Read through a lot of this brilliant information here cheers lads


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## EvatheDiva

Thankyou this post really really helped!


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## Acecurl99

I am a new member of this forum. I was looking for such kind of helpful post. Thanks a lot for sharing such an informative post. I think it will help new members a lot.


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## Betts020577

Some great info here for newbies and some great tips i can use.

Many thanks guys and gals, Keep up the great work


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## j_kour

I am new member as well and I find this info very useful. However, I see that the post is quite old (~8yrs old). Is there any update/new knowledge/experiences around those points or they are pretty much the same?


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## Narcissus

I recommend this for beginners:

- Use principally (if not exclusively) multi-joint exercises.

- Focus on the progression of the load, but do not be in a hurry; only add weight when you can.

- Learn well the exercises; do not overlook this point ... it is fundamental for Your Safety!

- At the beginning, do not think any parts to deficient; focused on strength and mass in general.

- Train smart: you have to train to "stimulate" growth and NOT to destroy

- Forget intensity techniques you read in magazines or on many web pages; a beginner (but also applies to athletes "natural" is not particularly advanced) does not need it ... in fact may even be counterproductive.

- Remember that training is only one side of the coin called "results"! The other side is the RECOVERY!

- Care nutrition, healthy eating. Step away from the "junk" food.

- Remember that supplements - by themselves - do not do "miracles." They can give you an edge over ... but for this to happen must be combined with a balanced diet, a well-structured training and - most importantly - to a proper lifestyle.

-Be, steady, focused and above all motivated !!


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## Dazza9t9

This has been a brilliant source of information for a newbie like me and I am only half way through


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## Jaypatel1985

Thanks


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## louiedan

A great article, still a must-read!

Just some remarks.



BigGiver said:


> Calories: bodyweight x 11-13
> 
> Protein: bodyweight x 1.2-1.4


This can be misleading sometimes. It depends on your age, lifestyle, muscle-fat proportion in your body, and many other things.



BigGiver said:


> Here are some good websites for videos on proper form and exercises:
> 
> http://www.2-fit.com/video/index.html
> 
> http://www.theministryoffitness.com/exercises.htm


Unfortunately these websites don't exist any more.


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