Newbie from Wellys

[boltsmidgets]

Morning all,

New to BBNZ. Posted a few things but thought i better come in and say 'kiaora'. 26 year old from windy Wellys looking to gain 3-4kg and rip through the fat a.k.a stomach :pfft:

Im just starting out on this 12-week eating/gym plan to gain 3-4kg of muscle and to firm up my core. At the moment there is a bit of fat down there, even though im only 72kg so i want to shrink that and define it so it feels slimmer and looks better. At the moment im currently taking Creatine Mono 30min before my workout and Horleys Crossfire 2-3 times a day to achieve my goal.

Im trying to eat 2500 calories a day to gain weight aswell which im struggling with a little. Typically im getting to around 2000 calories but over time i know i will crack 2500 more concistently.

At the gym im not lifting heavy weights as im only a wee-fella lol but im doing the absolute max i can ( for instance, DB press on swissball, maybe 15-20kg .. weak, i know! ).

Anyways, thats me! Always open to hearing from anyone with good advice on how i can improve so, get at me!

Stats:

Age - 26

Weight - 72kg

Height - 6ft

Current eating plan:

730am - cup of museli with mixed fruit and nuts

10am - two wholemeal slices of bread toasted with avocado

12pm - Chicken salad ( one chicken breast ) and a piece of fruit or two wholemeal slices of bread with salad and ham and a piece of fruit

1pm - Protein shake followed by creatine shake

2pm - workout at the gym for an hour ( Arms monday, back tuesday, shoulders wednesday, thursday chest/core, friday mix but only if i have time to get to the gym - legs are a no go at the moment due to injury )

3pm - Protein shake and a handful of mixed nuts and fruit

430pm - Wholemeal sandwich containing whatever salads/meat i have at home

6pm - meals are either mince wraps with salad or 2 chicken breasts with vege's or beef/chicken stir fry

9pm - Protein shake before bed

[Ninja]

Welcome bolts

Good luck with the muscle gain- dont be discouraged if you dont gain 4kg of muscle in 3 months thats a HUGE ask for a newbie

[AZIDE]

.

[Shutupandsquat]

^ :nod:

72kg at 6 foot, I would expect 4 kilo of muscle EASY.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

no offence implied when i ask this, i just didn't pick up on it from the introduction... male or female?

3~4kg of mass purely from muscle is about right... you may be able to add on a bit more even, depends on gender and your body composition as of now.

just curious how you got this figure of 2500 calories for weight gain? seems a little low for someone of your height/weight... not saying you can't build muscle on it as the first 3 months you can get away with these things but pretty sure for sustained gains this figure should be a bit higher. or are you trying to quickly cut off that bit of fat you have?

have you had your initial measurements taken yet? if not, go ahead & get those done so you can really see what's going on in the next couple months

[start1983]

I'm at a similar level to you, 178cm and 70kg , 29y/o. Just started strength training a month ago after a 6 month period of dieting. Basically complete newbie to strength training.

Go with some basic compound lifts squats/DL/bench/press etc.., don't use any stupid balls etc.. :/

Get the stronglifts app if you have an iphone and just follow that routine. Start with the bar only (20kg), that's what I did.

After a month I'm currently at 5x5 Squat 60, DL(1x5) 60, OHP 30, Bench 35, Row 35. I'm still puny, but at least I'm getting near "average" untrained strength levels. Hopefully the next 2 months will bring more gains.

[boltsmidgets]

Thanks for all your advice guys.

Ron, im male brada but in a 'whimpy' bod lol.

Im trying to eat in excess of 2500cals per day but am struggling at time. I guess i need some advice on foods that are high in cals that i can chomp through daily to get those needed cals up.

At the same time im trying to add muscle, i want to lose the small potbelly im starting to develop ( if possible ). The PT at the gym has told me not to worry about how heavy the weights are, yet, but more on the form side of things so thats what im trying to do. After one week already of eating properly and going gym, my arms are killing me so i feel like im doing a few things right or at least ok.

I need to get my BF % taken somewhere and get a real dietry plan but all these dieticians etc are waaaaay too expensive.

One question ive wanted to ask you guys, how often do you go to the gym?

Im going 4x a week for 50-55min working on one area of my body for that 50-55min. Is this ok or should i be going more often?

Like i said, im feeling pretty sore after my arms/chest/back workout but if more is needed then i will do what ever i can.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Thanks for all your advice guys.

Ron, im male brada but in a 'whimpy' bod lol.

Im trying to eat in excess of 2500cals per day but am struggling at time. I guess i need some advice on foods that are high in cals that i can chomp through daily to get those needed cals up.

At the same time im trying to add muscle, i want to lose the small potbelly im starting to develop ( if possible ). The PT at the gym has told me not to worry about how heavy the weights are, yet, but more on the form side of things so thats what im trying to do. After one week already of eating properly and going gym, my arms are killing me so i feel like im doing a few things right or at least ok.

I need to get my BF % taken somewhere and get a real dietry plan but all these dieticians etc are waaaaay too expensive.

One question ive wanted to ask you guys, how often do you go to the gym?

Im going 4x a week for 50-55min working on one area of my body for that 50-55min. Is this ok or should i be going more often?

Like i said, im feeling pretty sore after my arms/chest/back workout but if more is needed then i will do what ever i can.

That's ok if your goal is to cut down then, you try to stick to 2500 at least and even go a bit higher every now and then you'll be fine. After your first 3 months you'll be able to see how it's working for you and then start really dialling your diet in according to your goals then.

Don't worry about expensive dieticians for now, as long as you have an interest in sorting out your body and a bit of time you can learn enough to sort your own plans out. For more on nutrition (including a caloric intake calculator) check this forums Beginners guide to Nutrition : content.php?id=162

How often people go to the gym is really up to their own goals and such. The main ones you'll find are the people who go 3x a week and 4x a week.

What you are doing now with 4x a week and a different major muscle group each day is really good. I guess the split is something like Legs, Chest (+triceps), Back (+biceps), Shoulders (+triceps?) ? You can also add in some core and calves training every 2nd session. You mentioned you're in there for 55mins each day, do you have a proper workout plan for each day or do you sort of pick out exercises to try fill in that 55mins while you're there?

That emphasis on lighter weights and doing it properly is a very good approach. A very common approach for beginners on the bigger lifts like squat/benchpress/row/deadlifts is to start with no weight on the bar and every session you do that exercise, add on ~2.5kg. This way you'll still get to focus on form but also your body is slowly adopting to dealing with a newer, heavier weight each week - eventually it'll get too heavy to keep slapping more weight on and that's normal too, there are techniques you can learn to deal with that when the time comes.

Besides food and exercise make sure that you get good, quality sleep as well as this is when your body does all the good stuff what with building big new muscle tissues and all.

Normally there's someone at the gym who will take your measurements/body fat % for free but check with your PT to find out what's the deal at your gym.

That pain you are feeling is known as DOMS and is perfectly normal, you'll still get it after years of training and it'll become like a great feeling rather than something painful. You can minimise the effect somewhat by stretching at the end of the workout (which is also real helpful for other reasons) as well as 5 to 10 minutes of cardio after that.

[Pseudonym]

Well, I was about to type a reply, when I saw Ron had beaten me to it, and his reply was much better than mine would have been. Thanks Ron! :pfft:

So I'll just say: welcome, Bolts!

[boltsmidgets]

Haha someone always beats you to it.

Thanks Ron, your advice is greatly appreciated :nod:

So that 55min is all planned, written down for me by the PT at the gym so im not mucking around. I use to just go to the gym for the sake of going, now, i go so i can see results. If i can firm up my chest/abs/arms/legs within 12-24 weeks then ill be wrapt. Not sure if its doable but hey, wont know until i try!