New to the gym, need some help

[newblifter]

Im currently 17, weigh about 140-145 pounds and i am new to the gym. I am wondering what are some good workout routines to start off with i was told to do Rippetoes starting strenght program. It goes like this:
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Pendlay Rows

So week 1 might look like:
Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:
Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

if this is any good i would like to know what is the appropriate weight to start off with.
Thanks in advance

[Scorcher2005]

telling us your weight with no height does no good. Also, the weight you start off with is dependant on the individual. You will need to find your 5 rep maxes and increase from there.

[newblifter]

I'm about 5'11

[HSfootball16]

just get under the weight (or over in the case of rows/deadlift) and find a 5 rep max (the most weight you can do for 5 reps) once you find this subtract about 10-15% of that and start there. just remember to start really low when finding the weights you should use, you dont want to get hurt before you get going. also remember to add atleast 5 pounds to the bar everyworkout untill you cant get the 3x5, after you get there we'll tell you what to do after that.

[newblifter]

for about how many weeks should i do this before i come back to ask u guys again?

[Scorcher2005]

ask us what? HS explained it pretty well. Get your 5 rep max and subtract a few pounds (because you can't do you 5 rep max for multiple sets). If you you get in all your sets and reps with a certain weight, add 5-10lbs to the bar next workout. Repeat over and over.

[Johan]

for at least a couple months if not more, build a good strong base now, itll pay off when you can lift an assload later. Wish i would of had a good beginner program when i started.....stupid musclemags! Thought id throw that in there for the theme today haha

[Eric3237]

You can't go wrong with the program.

I'm going to give you some different advice on the weight to start with, especially being you are new to the gym.

If you were to find your maxes you would need to subtract a lot more that a couple pounds to start off with or you'd stall out almost immediately.

The first thing is your 5 rep max will only tell you so much. Because it is 3x5 sets accross. The weight you can do on the 3x5 is going to be lower than you can do for a max set of 5. Could be much lower. Maybe 30 pounds. But guess what? You really don't know because it's hard for anyone to know exactly and especially someone new to the game. Plus your maxes will be changing on a daily basis and things will be changing much more quckly now than they ever will again.

And it won't matter in the long run. Just pick light and relatively easy weights. If they seem too easy at first don't worry. At this point it won't matter (later on on more advanced programs it will matter more). Just use the light comfortable weights and build on it ever how long it takes. And turst me things will get heavy really fast...look at how often you're loading the bar.

Something I think everyone needs to keep in mind when people come on and say they are new to it. The exercises may be completely new to them. This is a strength routine but the first thing they need to do is LEARN the movements. Granted they are not like learning the olympic lifts but the first rule of learning is LIGHT weights. When you are learning correct movement patterns it shouldn't even feel heavy let alone be heavy by definition.

Another reason is that people just beginning are going to be getting a whole lot stronger VERY fast. Most of this is going to be because of neural gains. Problem is that it is likely that the tendons and whatnot may not be able to strengthen and recover as quickly as this newfound intenstiy comes about. It's not guaranteed to be a problem by any means but if you put all this together it is a good reason for the novice to start out his new marriage to iron with a honeymoon period And a cutting a few pounds off the max or even 10 to 15% is too much for this.

Other reasons:

There is no disadvantage to going with a weight that is lighter. But if you screw up and go with something too heavy that is going to affect your overall progression bigtime.

Add as much to the bar each workout as you can progress on. That may be 10 pounds for deads and 5 pounds for squats. You can lower the weight increments when progression becomes too difficult on any given exercies. Don't ever stop this program until you simply cannot progress this way anymore no matter what you do. There are plenty of journals on this right now so check out the journal section.

[widdoes2504]

Eric is absolutely right. Start off light, find your rhythm and progress from there. Do not rush too fast and get too caught up in the weight you are lifting. Proper form and steady progression will take you very far and is a must as a raw beginner. Stick with the program until you cannot progress any farther at all no matter what you do and then we can help change stuff around for you. Take care of yourself and enjoy the gains cause they will be the best you have. Later.

[Eric3237]

^^^^Well said, haven't seen you in a while, Widdoes. There's a good discussion here that goes into a lot of this kind of thing. It gets a little convoluted but there are a lot of solid points in it:

http://www.bodybuilding.net/training...Military+Press

Ignore the term "military press" being higlighted . I was looking for another thread when I came accross that one.