Little Help, And Hello

[Spur]

Well, Just wanted to say hey to everyone here, and I guess I'll give yall a little background..

I just recently started to get truly focused on getting really into shape and to tell yall the truth...I'm really kinda lost on how to go about starting, the equipment that I need, the diet, the workout, and everything else. Lol, the reason I'm here. So of course any help would be appreciated more than you could imagine.

I'm a very disciplined person when it comes to folowing instructions just as long as they are specific enough or can kinda steer me in the right direction. Figured that might be important. Just so yall know I can afford to make the time to do just about any workout routine so thats not a problem either.

I'm currently in somewhat decent shape. Freshman in HS, 170, 5"9. I bench around 140-150. Havent maxed in a while. Squat's somewhere around the 215-230 mark and deadlift is around 300, give or take 10 pounds or so. But it all looks really bad compared to most of yall, lol. But maybe, maybe by the end of the year, be benching close to 200, squating 250+, and deadlifting 330+. But at the same time get cut and be able to walk around without a shirt. Lol

Like I said before, Any help at all is very appreciated. Thanx again

[Spur]

Thanx pal, will do

[EricT]

Welcome to the site, Spur.

[verbatimreturned]

Welcome

[Spur]

Thanx Yall

[kurtjohnson]

Hey man! I'm in highschool also. I will be a senior this year. i started lifting areound a year and a half ago and I have made some good progress. I could barely do 95 on bench press when i started and now i can max out at 195, so i went up 100lbs since i started. I think thats pretty good. Oh yeah, Oh yeah, you wanted to know what you should be eating and what routine you should be doing. I haven't been lifting for all that long but I would suggest you try out bill stars power routine. If you ask someone else who has been on this forum longer than I have they could point you to where to find it, I would suggest asking 0311, he's a really good guy to talk to and has a lot of knowledge to pass down. He actually suggested the same routine to me and I like it alot. I have really made some great progress on the routine and i have gained strength, muscle, and speed. oh yeah and welcome to bodybuilding.net

[Darkhorse]

LOL, thanks kurt, but to avoid another pm, I'll just post it here. All beginners have a lot of success with this program. Anyone starting out should focus on compound lifts, avoid isolation exercises, and work hard to bring up their strength which will build a good foundation for later down the road. Too many neophytes skip to building their house on "unstable ground" without a foundation and they wonder what happened? If you build a terrific strength base in regards to the bench, squat, and deadlift, it'll be far and away easier to construct a solid routine around them.

Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength Routine:

*note the dip/chin isnt in the original program

Here is a routine from Mark Rippetoe’s book called “Starting Strength”. You can buy the book at www.startingstrength.com. It includes endless useful info that all beginners should learn. But as for the program he suggests, his clients that he gives it to on AVERAGE gain 30-40 pounds in about 6 months or so which is amazing gains.

The program is as follows:

You alternate Workout A and Workout B every other day, 3 times a week. So you could either do Mon, Wed, Fri or Tues, Thurs. and Sat. Depending on what works best for you.

Example:

Week 1:

Monday - Workout A
Wednesday -Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:

Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

Etc.

For the actual workouts read below:

Note: This doesn’t include warm-up sets

**Means this is OPTIONAL**

Workout A

3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
**2x8 Dips (if you cant do these or no assist machine then do Decline Dumbbell Bench Press with your hands Facing each other)

Workout B

3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Pendlay or Bent Rows (or power cleans)
**2x8 Chin-ups (recommended mainly if doing the cleans)

Assistance work:

Most people cant get it through there head that compound lifts also work your arms Plenty and always Insist on direct arm work. As quoted by Madcow2, “Don't **** with this. Every bodybuilder seems to have Attention Deficit Disorder and an overwhelming desire to customize everything.” If you are one of these people note that you have the option of doing the dips and chins which give PLENTY of arm work. Abdominal work is fine to do also if needed.

I recommend weighted decline sit-ups and/or Hanging Leg Raises at 2x8-10.

Weight:

As for the weight, make sure that you use the SAME weight throughout the sets. For example if I do the first set if Squats with 200lbs then I do the other 2 sets of squats with 200lbs.

Every week make it a goal to increase each of your lifts by 2.5%. Meaning if I lifted 100lbs for my Bench Week 1 then Week 2 I would try for 102.5lbs. If I did 200lb Squats Week 1 I would try for 205lbs in Week 2. Sometimes you will be able to do more but don’t mess with your form just to lift more.

Warm-up Sets:

Before all your working sets it is best to do a few warm-up sets. Specifically for your first lift. You don’t have to do the whole thing for the other lifts but definitely the first.

What you do is you ramp your weight up to your working sets.

For example:

2x5xbar (sets x reps x weight)
1x5x85
1x3x125
1x2x155

And the working set weight would be 175.

If you are lifting your working sets under 150 I would cut out the 3rd warmup set of 1x5 because it wont be needed.

The Lifts:

[Used references and quotes from Madcow2]

Barbell Squat: These should be full range Olympic style squats. Use the full range of your body - that means as low as you can go which for almost everyone is past parallel. Ass to the Grass!! If the top of your thighs aren't at least parallel it's for sh!t. If you think this is bad for your knees going low, you and whoever told you that are relying on an old wives tale. Anyone who knows the human body will tell you that below parallel is MUCH safer on the knees whereas parallel and above put all the sheer right on them and doesn’t allow proper transfer of the load to the rest of your body (this is how your body was designed).

Rest a barbell on the upper portion of your back, not your neck. Firmly grip the bar with your hands almost twice your shoulder width apart. Position your feet about shoulder width apart and your toes should be pointing just a little outward with your knees in the same direction. Keep your back as straight as possible and your chin up, bend your knees and slowly lower your hips straight down until your THIGHS ARE AT LEAST PARALLEL TO THE FLOOR. Once you reach the bottom position, press the weight up back to the starting position.

[fz1]

welcome to the site.

[_Wolf_]

if you want to do Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength for Beginners, i suggest you read this: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=750551 in addition to what 0311 posted and you may also want to look at my journal..

best of luck

Sentinel