Help a noob - Get free candy

[Kingkarl]

Hello NZBB

I've been a lurker here for a year or so and have finally joined up after finally becoming semi-serious about the gym.

Here's where I'm at. Sorry if it's long I'm just trying to help you to help me.

I'm 6'1", 70kg with an unbelievably fast metabolism. I hardly have an ounce of fat on me. I've more or less had a 6 pack my whole life (good) but my body's still undecided on whether or not it actually wants me to have any other muscles (bad). Not really, but you get the idea.

My goal is to put on 5-10 kgs or so. Actually that's a lie. I don't give a shit about numbers, just wanna bulk up a bit and finally bid farewell to my lanky ass body. Who knows, maybe one day I might lose my ability to hide behind lampposts and chicks might want a piece of me when they're sober.

I wont be doing any leg exercises, I'm just running a couple times a week.

So I've been going to the gym once a week or so for the last 6-8 months doing the noob exercises recommended to me by "Fitness Specialists". Chest press, DB Bicep Curl, Tricep Extension etc. I was doing 2 sets of 12 for each exercise (up until recently where I went to 10, 8, 6) .

Problem was I was in a catered university hall which made it impossible to control my diet. I would of been surprised if the shit they served us contained any more than 25g protein total each day. You guys don't know the meaning of the word CARBOHYDRATE till you've spent a year in that place. That and the amount of alcohol (4 boxes of beer a week more often than not :oops:) and other substances we rammed down our throats and other orifices meant I was never really going to be healthy enough to make any progress.

So naturally I haven't really put on any weight, just gotten really friggen cut. I've been drinking the odd shake but not really enough and with the extremely crap diet I otherwise had it was pretty meaningless. Horleys awesome mass vanilla tastes friggin amazing, but I've just bought some Nutra Whey Vanilla because for the price, there's several times the amount of protein in it and I can get enough calories from the rest of my food so don't need all that other shit they chuck in mass gainers.

Now I'm back home over summer and eating decent food I'm taking things more seriously. I want to be spending 3-4 days a week working out.

I went and got a programme written for me by the gym dudes today but I'm not entirely convinced it's what I need.

They've got me doing the following:

Sets of 15, 12, 10 for each exercise gradually increasing weight (obviously)

Bench

Incline Bench

Seated row

Lat pull down

Shoulder Press

Bicep Curl

Tricep extension

I've forgotten the name of the last one, but it's that shoulder exercise where you raise weights out to your side with your arms straight and inline with your shoulders

Various core exercises which I'm happy with

Doing that routine 3-4 times a week.

I understand they're trying to build strength so I have a baseline to start from, but I feel I'm already at a decent(ish) starting point having been going to the gym a bit for the last 8 months.

I could be completely wrong but I get the feeling they've got me on too many reps with too low weights for what I want to achieve.

So if any of you GCs can help me out and suggest some exercises I should be doing (maybe targeting different areas on different days) I would happily name my first child in your honour.

Hope that's all the info you guys need to point me in the right direction.

[Jigga]

All you need to learn is how to eat and you will grow like a weed.

At 70kg and 6'1" dude you must be anorexic. I'm a little shorter, 12kg heavier and I am anorexic.

Start off with ~200g protein, ~350g carbohydrate and ~100g fat a day. When weight gain slows bump it up.

The routine you do doesn't matter too much intially just make sure you have in there squat, bentover row, overhead press and bench press (http://stronglifts.com/ has info on how to do all those exercises properly and a v good program for you to start off with). Train yourself in to the ground and add weight every session no matter how much it takes out of you.

I can guarantee you you will put on a kg atleast a week (depends on genetics a little) and when you start gaining weight like crazy it will motivate you to be consistent. Consistent training and consistent eating is all you need to fill out. If you are half-assed about it though you will just be swimming in circles for the rest of your life. Do as I say not as I do

[jimjim83]

All you need to learn is how to eat and you will grow like a weed.

At 70kg and 6'1" dude you must be anorexic. I'm a little shorter, 12kg heavier and I am anorexic.

Start off with ~200g protein, ~350g carbohydrate and ~100g fat a day. When weight gain slows bump it up.

The routine you do doesn't matter too much intially just make sure you have in there squat, bentover row, overhead press and bench press (http://stronglifts.com/ has info on how to do all those exercises properly and a v good program for you to start off with). Train yourself in to the ground and add weight every session no matter how much it takes out of you.

I can guarantee you you will put on a kg atleast a week (depends on genetics a little) and when you start gaining weight like crazy it will motivate you to be consistent. Consistent training and consistent eating is all you need to fill out. If you are half-assed about it though you will just be swimming in circles for the rest of your life. Do as I say not as I do

You must have an eating disorder jigga Im 5'8 105kg. Dont hate me because im huge!

[Phedder]

You're me at the start of this year, same height but I was 76kg, quite lean, semi regular gym goer but never any real direction. I spent the first few months after I decided to get 'serious' just doing upper body stuff, which was the first mistake. I made gains the first few months, but nothing compared to what I got once incorporating lower body also.

My advice from being there;

Include squats and deadlifts! Bench, overheard press, rows, chin ups should all be in the program also. Programs like stronglifts and starting strength are designed around getting beginners started down the right track.

Focus on gaining strength. It's a lot easier to measure progress that way and as long as you're eating well, if your lifting numbers keep going up you'll continue building muscle. That's what makes stronglifts and starting strength so good, you have goals for each week and it really helps keep you motivated when you're constantly progressing.

EAT! Eating well will be the most important aspect for you starting to gain some muscle. The goals Jigga posted up would be a good start but I don't think you need to worry about macro ratios too much yet. Just focus on getting lots of food in, as long as there's some meats, fruits and veges, oats, eggs, peanut butter, bread, olive oil etc in there and lots of it you'll be giving your body what it needs. However if you want to be stricter with your diet that's fantastic too, will make things easier for you down the track when gains are harder to come by.

Eat Big, train hard, rest plenty and just watch the muscle and strength come.

[soundsgood]

All you need to learn is how to eat and you will grow like a weed.

At 70kg and 6'1" dude you must be anorexic. I'm a little shorter, 12kg heavier and I am anorexic.

Start off with ~200g protein, ~350g carbohydrate and ~100g fat a day. When weight gain slows bump it up.

The routine you do doesn't matter too much intially just make sure you have in there squat, bentover row, overhead press and bench press (http://stronglifts.com/ has info on how to do all those exercises properly and a v good program for you to start off with). Train yourself in to the ground and add weight every session no matter how much it takes out of you.

I can guarantee you you will put on a kg atleast a week (depends on genetics a little) and when you start gaining weight like crazy it will motivate you to be consistent. Consistent training and consistent eating is all you need to fill out. If you are half-assed about it though you will just be swimming in circles for the rest of your life. Do as I say not as I do

You must have an eating disorder jigga Im 5'8 105kg. Dont hate me because im huge!

All this smack talk and no pics :naughty:

[tomsammce]

5 foot 8 105kg doesnt mean shit. that could either look like an olympia competitor or quite easily a slob.

[Jigga]

You're me at the start of this year, same height but I was 76kg, quite lean, semi regular gym goer but never any real direction. I spent the first few months after I decided to get 'serious' just doing upper body stuff, which was the first mistake. I made gains the first few months, but nothing compared to what I got once incorporating lower body also.

My advice from being there;

Include squats and deadlifts! Bench, overheard press, rows, chin ups should all be in the program also. Programs like stronglifts and starting strength are designed around getting beginners started down the right track.

Focus on gaining strength. It's a lot easier to measure progress that way and as long as you're eating well, if your lifting numbers keep going up you'll continue building muscle. That's what makes stronglifts and starting strength so good, you have goals for each week and it really helps keep you motivated when you're constantly progressing.

EAT! Eating well will be the most important aspect for you starting to gain some muscle. The goals Jigga posted up would be a good start but I don't think you need to worry about macro ratios too much yet. Just focus on getting lots of food in, as long as there's some meats, fruits and veges, oats, eggs, peanut butter, bread, olive oil etc in there and lots of it you'll be giving your body what it needs. However if you want to be stricter with your diet that's fantastic too, will make things easier for you down the track when gains are harder to come by.

Eat Big, train hard, rest plenty and just watch the muscle and strength come.

Gave him some general numbers incase his idea of eating a lot is a long way off the mark.

Being precise about the cfp ratio isn't important until you put on some size though which may be what you were getting at.

[jimjim83]

5 foot 8 105kg doesnt mean shit. that could either look like an olympia competitor or quite easily a slob.

Ill go with olympia competitor

[Phedder]

Being precise about the cfp ratio isn't important until you put on some size though which may be what you were getting at.

Yeah that's what I meant mate, thought your numbers would actually be a good start but may be a bit much to ask for specifics this early on.

[Kingkarl]

Thanks for the replies Phedder and Jigga.

I had a read of the 5x5 routine on strong lifts and it definitely promises a lot.

Only thing that doesn't excite me too much about it is the exercises that involve a lot of technique. I have a lot of spinal pain from the skiing I do over the winter and I think doing exercises like dead lifts, squats and overhead presses could really aggravate it - Obviously my form will be far from perfect and the pain is bad enough as it is. I don't want to make it worse and risk long term pain.

I think I'll just try the 3 days a week alternating "pushing" and "pulling" muscles as suggested in the beginner routine resources

How crucial is lower body strength to upper body gains? If I don't strength train my legs with squats etc will my upper body growth be far less significant?

From what you've said and advice on strong lifts, if I focus on my diet I should see some results fairly quick. Problem is I don't have a lot of money to spend on food. The economy is faaarked and no one's hiring at the moment and I've got one hell of an overdraft to pay off.

But I'll do my best with the cheap shit I can get - I'm demolishing heaps of oats, ham, lots of bread, protein powder etc. I'm gonna aim for 20000kj, 200g protein per day. I'm coping easily with 5-6 meals per day, but struggle to find time sometimes for a mid morning snack.

If only milk was cheaper I'd definitely be on the gallon of milk a day plan.

[Jigga]

Spinal pain as in straining a few muscles in your lower back or has a doctor told you you have actual spinal damage? If you can ski you can squat. I can understand that it is easier not to squat because a) they are hard and b) there is more technique involved. At the end of the day it is your choice. Your upper body gains won't be drastically smaller if you don't train lower body but there are a long list of reasons you should train lower body if you want to get big and strong.

I know what it is like paying for food while in overdraft mate. Best sources of protein in terms of bang for your buck are chicken, mince and eggs. Rice is cheap as chips and that will help you stack on a heap of weight. Protein powder is relatively expensive and I would only use it to bump up your protein intake each day. Drinking a couple scoops of powder each day won't make you big, you need lots of nutrient dense, real food.

Some things to think about

[fatass_nv]

I'm actually using more protein powders now cause of the food price increase with the GST. My breakfast used to be blending 3 eggs+ banana+ half a can of salmon + milk but after calculating, it costs 7c per gram of protein in salmon compared to 4.6c per gram from my protein powder

But definitely meat is still the cheapest source-->Venison for me 6 kgs a week for 50 bucks (best protein deal ever)