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[MjFrancis]

Choosing a Program: The Novice
In my opinion, all novices should choose a proven program used by folks similar to them--untrained, unfamiliar, and with bodies "adapted to inactivity" as Mark Rippetoe has said. It has to be a PROVEN program--one that has worked for other drug-free beginners. I like routines that have been time tested as being effective.

The most IMPORTANT part of choosing a program is to figure out what you want. You need a goal. For some, this is specific: "I want to increase my bench by 50 lbs. this year" "I want to gain an 1" on my biceps in 9 months" "I want to lower my bodyfat 5% in a year" "I want to increase my 400 in 3 months".

The more specific the goal, the better. However, as a beginner, you may not really know what you want. Therefore, make it easy, and try to focus your goal on something simple at first:

• Strength
• Size
• Fat Loss
• Specific Skill/Sport Application

Obviously, there can be overlap, but focus on one and use the other as a secondary goal. From here, you can really start to figure out what you want to do, and it will help us get an idea of what you need.

Requesting GAF's Help
READ THE ENTIRE OP FIRST BEFORE REQUESTING HELP
If you are going to request a routine or advice on a routine, please READ THE ENTIRE OP and then use this template:

• Age:
• Height:
• Weight:
• Goal:
• Current Training Schedule:
• Current Training Equipment Available:
• Comments:

DID YOU READ THE OP YET

I'm partial to the following resource - it mirrors much of what is said in this thread, but in an easy to digest format:

http://simplesciencefitness.com/

Beginner Q&A
Q: I don't want to get big bulky muscles, I want lean muscles. I should do light weight and high reps, right?
A: Do not be afraid of lifting weights. Your muscles will not get magically huge overnight. Muscle does not grow "leaner" or "bulkier": it just grows (not completely true, but the difference between sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar growth is NOT what beginners are concerned with). It is HARD to get HUGE. It does not happen by accident, except a very select few genetic freaks or hormonally enhanced freaks. Lifting weights will aid you in ANY goal: losing weight (raises resting metabolic rate and you don't look like a heap of skin after you lose major weight), gaining weight (combined with proper diet, lifting heavy compound lifts frequently will make you grow), or maintaining weight (weight lifting can be tailored to those not wishing to gain any weight, but still wishing to maintain or increase strength).

Q: I want to tone my muscles. I should do light weight and high reps, right?
A: Tone is the product of low bodyfat, aka DIET. The less bodyfat on your body, the more definition your muscles will have. The way you train a muscle will not influence the surrounding fat; high repetitions will increase muscular endurance and lactic resistance, but does not equal more "tone". Oddly enough, high-intensity (intensity is measured in % of your 1RM) weight training has more of an effect on a muscle's feel and appearance than low-intensity weight training:

From the book Practical Programming:

The modern fitness industry's concept of "toning" muscles is specious--it might sound cool, but it lacks any tangible and definable meaning. The term "muscle tone" or tonus describes an electrophysiological phenomenon, a measure of ionic flow across muscle cell membranes. It can be thought of as the muscle's readiness to do anaerobic work. The more fit the muscle, the more electrophysiological activity it exhibits at rest. Lack of exercise leads to poor tone, aerobic exercise improves tone a little bit, low-intensity weight training improves tone more, and high-intensity training improves tone the fastest. As a test, go poke the traps or quads of an elite weightlifter at rest, if she'll let you. They'll be hard as rock. The same muscles of an elite road cyclist as rest will be firm, but not hard. Then compare the athletes' muscle tone to that of a sedentary person. The results will be quite enlightening. Most exercise programs that claim to improve muscle tone are actually lower-intensity hypertrophy programs and are only moderately effective for improving muscle tone. If "tone" is the goal, strength is the method.

Q: I'm intimated of going to the gym for the first time. Won't the big guys laugh at me?
A: Contrary to popular belief, most gym are not populated by Biff from Back to the Future. Hordes of meatheads will not try to descend on you and try to bully you. In fact, many gyms have a supportive and positive atmosphere. One of the biggest issues that too many people will try to give you advice in the gym.

However, if someone does get in your face, please bear in mind that you are a paying member of this gym and should able to take full advantage of all the equipment on site.


Q: My workout buddy says the new issue of Men's Health has the perfect routine. Why didn't you tell me about this?
A: A few things to go over here and the first that there is no perfect routine. It doesn't exist. Everyone has different goals, different bodies, and thus different needs. While many of us on GAF (and anyone else) are adamant about "the best" routines, they work for some, and not for others.
HOWEVER...there are a few rules:

• Specificity of routine increases as experience and recovery ability increase. Broad routines work well for beginners but not for the upper 1% of the weight training community. Therefore, there are a few key principles of routines that work for the beginner-intermediate, which makes up the majority (probably around 80%) of the weight training community:
• Compound lifts. Squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, pullups, and olympic movements are best.
• Rep range of 3 to 8, depending on goals. Five is most often used for strength and size.
• Rest. 8-10 hours of sleep per night; your body begins repairing 45-60 minutes after falling asleep and continues throughout deep sleep. This is why 8-10 hours of good sleep is better than 3 hours at a time.
• Fuel your body. Your body needs water to complete ALL biological processes, let alone for getting bigger or stronger. You must recover! This is just as important as your training.

Those are some basics. Beginners have the amazing divine ability to essentially grow on ANY routine--and this is where a large source of information comes from. You will get beginners who have just been doing pushups and crunches and say, "I look fucking jacked now! It's all you need to do!" or, "All I've been doing is curls and bench! You got your tickets?" And they stay like that. But they are more than willing to dispense this advice out to others as "working". Why? Because
A)They found something that works (even if it only worked for a few weeks)! They're smart!
B)They don't know any better and are probably too lazy or arrogant to try anything else.
That's the problem, is that because a beginner will grow on ANY routine (full body, split, isolation, calisthenics, etc.), they think it legitimizes that routine. The good routines are the ones that work year in and year out with only modifications within the program. After you stop being able to make workout to workout progress (and the day WILL come), you are an intermediate and need to reevaluate how you are training.
There are always ways to modify how you're training and nothing is perfect. I recommend 5 sets of 5 reps for size and strength, but if you only do 1-2 sets of 5 reps, you probably won't grow that much, though you may get stronger depending on the frequency of your workouts. Whereas some people use 1-3 rep range for pure strength, others may gain size AND strength if they do many sets of it. 8 reps is generally great for size, but hey, if you're getting stronger, fucking A! Good for you!

Q: So the latest issue of FLEX has this dude that is bigger and stronger than anyone on GAF doing a 1 bodypart-a-day weight training routine. What you got on this?
A: I have a problem with isolation routines. As I said before, anything will work with beginners and there are always exceptions; but isolation routines saw their rise in direct correlation to the usage of steroids. Modern day professional bodybuilding is a joke due to steroid use. Steroids have an incredible effect on the recovery and work capacity on a normal person--growth HAPPENS. This is not to say that steroid use is a fast ticket to getting huge--hard work is still necessary--but the spectrum of what you can do and use to grow widens. The truth is that many modern bodybuilders and the bodybuilding mags that endorse them are supported by the supplement industry. When a source of information is influenced by the makers of a product, credibility goes down the shitter.
Isolation routines do not work nearly as well as full body and/or compound lifts for the majority of the lifting population (novice and intermediate levels). There is not enough cumulative stress on the body as a whole to induce strength and growth. In addition, isolation exercises do not encourage the body to work well as a whole--you'll function more as a "collection" of bodyparts moreso than one well put together being. Full body exercises and routines give greater hormonal release, teach your body coordination and mechanical awareness, strengthen the tendons and ligaments connecting your tissue and bones, and work many of the smaller supportive muscles. Isolation exercises do have their place but they should not be the foundation of a routine.

Q: The routine I am on right now never gives me a "burn" and I rarely get sore the next day. My pilates instructor told me that I must not be working the muscle right. What gives?
A:The "burn" (the result of lactic acid building up in the muscle) and getting sore (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), which is still not fully understood) is never an indication of a good workout. Let's take these things one at a time:

• "Burn"-People love the burn and it is usually associated with high reps (USUALLY, though multiple sets of low reps can have the same cumulative effect). There are many reasons for this--it lets them know they are "working" the muscle, thus providing direct feedback into how they must be working out the right way, it gives them "the pump" afterwards, etc. But a burn is not necessary for a workout to be effective and you should NOT obsess over it. The burn is usually (and hopefully, as a burn related to muscle tearing is not a good burn) the result of lactic acid buildup. You CAN train your body to become more resistant to this (although "resistant" should be called "efficient", as "lactic acid" is actually a fuel). I believe I read somewhere that Lance Armstrong experiences VERY little lactic acid "buildup", as he able to utilize it more efficiently, and he is an elite level athlete. Lactic acid does NOT make you strong, make you look better, or decrease your bodyfat. As I stated before, lactic acid is a fuel and important to a muscle's production, but only when it's production is "maintained"; once its production goes over a threshold, it hinders a muscle's performance. This is different for every individual--you are probably going to hit your threshold before Lance Armstrong is.
• "Pump"-The pump is simply an increase of blood flow to a muscle do to muscular stimulation. Someone could bench 300 for a few reps and not experience ANY pump, and yet they may do 50 pushups and get a great pump. Which is a better indicator of strength? High intensity/low rep exercise does not provide an adequate time frame for blood to flow to the area and "swell" the muscle. Here, think about this: bodybuilders will pump weight behind stage in order to give their muscles a better look, fuller, more "body". That's about the extent of usefulness of a pump.
• DOMS-Muscle soreness occurs 1-3 days after a particular exercise and is still not fully understood. Regardless, some people spontaneously combust if they do not get sore after a workout. After all, they read that working out breaks down a muscle and it is repaired on the days they have off, so the muscle soreness must be their broken down muscle repairing itself...right? Now the running theory is that soreness is more related to the type of muscular contraction you are performing. Eccentric movements (the "negative") have been known to cause more DOMS. But wait...all you are doing is lowering the weight. If DOMS is an indicator of a good workout, shouldn't all we be doing is negatives? Doesn't make much sense, does it? You can train heavy, get stronger, and get bigger and experience only minor DOMS. There is nothing wrong with this. The fact of the matter is that DOMS is largely misunderstood. It was once thought to actually be related to lactic acid, which is now known as false. It could be related to the muscle tears/breakdown that exercise causes; it could be related to the actually recovery process, as the body floods the muscles and causes them to swell slightly, increasing pressure on the tissue and nerves in the area. Regardless, DOMS does not have a DIRECT effect on how good your workout is--more often than not, it is an indicator of adaptation or being untrained in a particular movement. It would be best to regard it as that and never be afraid to train through soreness--if anything, the blood flow to the muscle will help loosen it and aid in recovery. Just be sure to warm up and stretch out the tightness.

 

[MjFrancis]

Training

Beginner Routines
Full Body
I recommend this one to all beginners, but furthermore, I recommend purchasing Starting Strength. A good guide on that program can be found here. It is one of the single greatest training resources out today. It combines science AND practice, and uses concepts that have been put into work with athletes since the 70's to help novices gained muscular bodyweight and increase strength.

Monday
Squat - 3 sets of 5
Bench Press - 3 sets of 5
Deadlifts - 1 set of 5
Pull-Ups - 3 sets of 8-15

Wednesday
Squat - 3 sets of 5
Overhead Press - 3 sets of 5
Power Cleans - 5 sets of 3
Abdominal work

Friday
Squat - 3 sets of 5
Bench Press - 3 sets of 5
Deadlift - 1 set of 5
Bent Over Rows - 3 set of 5
Arm work, if desired

This routine will get you great gains, provided you are eating well. Your diet will dictate your gains, unless you just gain mass easily (fuck you). The only change that I can recommend is reducing the deadlift to a once-a-week lift once it plateaus or affects your recovery.

Alternate Full Body
Adapted from the book Practical Programming.

Monday
Squat - 3 sets of 5
Bench Press/Press - 3 sets of 5
Chin-ups - 3 sets to failure

Wednesday
Squat - 3 sets of 5
Bench Press/Press - 3 sets of 5
Deadlift - 1 set of 5

Friday
Squat - 3 sets of 5
Bench Press/Press - 3 sets of 5
Pull-ups - 3 sets to failure

The bench press and the press are alternated every workout. Pull-ups are done with hands facing away from you, chin-ups with hands facing towards you.

For both programs once all sets are completed with no failed reps, add weight for the following workout (5lbs for press movements, 10lbs for lower body movements). When you start missing reps 2-3 workouts in a row, reset the weight about 10% on that movement only and continue to add weight as before. If smaller weight jumps are desired or required, do so with 2.5lbs and 5lbs jumps for upper and lower body movements, respectively. When linear progress in weight from workout to workout is exhausted (3 full resets for each movement) consider an upper/lower split or an intermediate program.

Upper/Lower Split
Really, the only type of split I endorse. This can be for someone who wants to try something new (DO THE FULL BODY ROUTINE FOR A FEW MONTHS FIRST), or has sport-specific concerns, or wants to plug in a lot of cardio (which they can do on the upper body days).

Workout A
Bench Press - 3 sets of 5
Bent Rows - 3 sets of 5
Overhead Press - 3-4 sets of 8
Barbell Curls - 3-4 sets of 8
(Cardio)

Workout B
Squats - 3 sets of 5
Power Cleans - 5 sets of 3
Deadlifts - 1-2 sets of 5
Dumbbell or Barbell Step Ups - 3 sets of 8

Alternate workouts A and B every other workout on three nonconsecutive days a week (i.e. Mon:A, Wed:B, Fri:A, Mon:B, Wed:A, etc)


Other Beginner Workouts

• Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
• Grayskull Linear Progression by John Scheaffer
• Westside for Skinny Bastards by Joe DeFranco

Intermediate Workouts

• 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler
• Texas Method  by Mark Rippetoe
• Madcow 5x5  by Bill Starr
• PHAT Training by Layne Norton
• The Generic Bulking Routine - by Lyle McDonald

Compound vs. Isolation exercises
While each have their strong points, compound exercises are more useful than isolation exercises. Keep in mind that your goals will dictate importance...but compound exercises work more than one muscle group at a time, and:

• Teach the body to move/function as one unit
• Strengthen connective tissue
• Produce greater anabolic effect
• Work more muscle groups with the same amount of effort (or less)

Compound exercises should make up the bulk of your workout. Isolation exercises have their place, but should NOT take second place to compound exercises--they should always supplement. Perhaps if you are a high level bodybuilder or working on a trouble spot, but I firmly believe that a routine based on isolation is vastly inferior to a routine based on compounds. As I said, they have their place:

• Great for bodybuilding applications
• Work on a lagging muscle group
• Sometimes isolation is just necessary to focus on a muscle to make it grow--my arms don't really grow unless I do specific exercises for them, for instance

Some examples of compound exercises:

• Squats-Works (in order of direct stimulation) quadriceps, gluteus, hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, lower back, spinal erectors, abdominals
• Deadlift-Works (in order of direct stimulation) trapezius, rhomboids, lower back, lats, spinal erectors, abdominals, gluteus, quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, grip
• Press-Works (in order of direct stimulation) triceps, deltoids, trapezius, rhomboids, abdominals, lower back
• Power Clean-Works (in order of direct stimulation) trapezius, rhomboids, lower back, spinal erectors, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, deltoids

Some examples of isolation exercises:

• Preacher Curls-Works (in order of direct stimulation) biceps, forearms
• Triceps Kickbacks-Works (in order of direct stimulation) triceps, deltoids (I'm being generous here)
• Leg Curls-Works (in order of direct stimulation) hamstrings
• Leg Extensions-Works (in order of direct stimulation) quadriceps

Sets & Reps-An Explanation in Regards to Goals
Here is a great chart taken from the Starting Strength wiki, which is meant to be a companion to Starting Strength:

This is the best explanation of repetitions and their effects. For information directly related to this, read the next section on "Muscular Hypertrophy".

Muscular Hypertrophy
Not all hypertrophy is created equal, and no, I'm not talking about building "lean" muscle and building "bulky" muscle. A more apt (but still terribly simplified) comparison is "functional/dense" vs. "superficial/bloated".

• Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy-This is an increase in the sarcoplasm in the muscle. Sarcoplasm is NON-CONTRACTILE TISSUE, but accounts for roughly 30% of the size of the muscle. In increasing sarcoplasm, you are actually DECREASING the muscle's contractile fiber density, resulting in less power/strength output across the muscle area. As you can see from the chart, from 10-12 reps and up is when sarcoplasmic hypertrophy comes into play. This is probably the type of "muscle-building" that bodybuilders get a rep for "all show and no go". However, it is not completely useless--simply being bigger in a chosen sport can have it's advantages and building size can help provide a better foundation for increasing your strength (the larger the cross-sectional area of a muscle, the greater it's potential for strength)
• Myofibrillar Hypertrophy-This is an increase in the size of the actually muscle fibers, but NOT an increase in the amount of muscle fibers. The "density" of the muscle will actually increase. This sort of training is more "functional" and more important for athletes, as low reps build explosive power as well. Increases in size may not come as quickly as sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, but you still WILL get bigger if you train this way and eat properly. Low reps (1-5) are best for this.

Equipment

• Chalk-Chalk is going to be your best friend in the gym. I consider it to be an equalizer--it returns your hands to a dry, fresh state. Crucial for ANY heavy or grip intensive lifts--even the bench press and squat, at heavy weights. You don't need much, and it only belongs on your hands and the bar. A requirement for heavy deadlifts and pulls
• Gloves-Unnecessary. Gloves are only an aesthetic choice for those who don't want calluses. Can "improve" your grip but you won't be helping your grip; in addition, it adds another layer between your grip and the bar.
• Belt-Belts are meant to increase the support of your core through increasing your intrabdominal pressure. This is why the belts that taper in the front are quite perplexing--you WANT the pressure on your abdominal wall. Get a belt that is the same width all the way around. I only recommend using a belt on your heaviest sets, and only if you need to--they can impair your ability to increase your core strength if you become reliant on them.
• Shoes-Weightlifting shoes are very important. You should not lift in running or crosstraining shoes, as the compressable heels/soles are terrible for weight lifting and do not allow consistent force production. Get something with a solid, flat sole (Chuck Taylors are great), or a dedicated weightlifting shoe.
• Straps-Straps can be incredibly useful in assistance exercises and when your grip is already fatigued. Do NOT become reliant on them. I used them for heavy power shrugs, which is more than my max deadlift. Very useful in ballistic movements, as well.

Injury Prevention/Care

• Injuries to a muscle/muscle belly: Bill Starr's Solution.

Mobility/Stretching

• Mobility WOD - Semi daily stretches and mobility exercises to keep your joints/muscles/etc. from getting stiff. Videos can also help with nagging issues you already have. I fixed a shoulder problem doing some daily work I learned here. It's also how I learned to deal with my knee pain I've had since I started lifting.

Bodyweight Calisthenics

If you don't have access to a gym or don't want to go to a gym, there's always the option of training bodyweight movements. Adding resistance to the movements are a little more tricky than a barbell, and improvement often comes in stricter form and more reps. The single easiest source of descriptions for the movements are provided by Al Kavadlo in his article Mastering Your Bodyweight. Jim at Beastskills also goes over many of the same essential bodyweight movements on his tutorial page.

I find the easiest way to improve conditioning, reps and/or strength in the bodyweight movements is to use Pavel's Grease the Groove (GTG) trick. I've found Zach Evan-Esh has provided the best tutorial. Do this with ONE movement and do the other essential movements 3x-5x/week.

For improving strength with the one-limb movements (one-arm pull-ups, one-arm push-up, etc) I recommend low reps and slowly decreasing leverage. For example Jim's tutorial for the one-legged pistol squat suggests grabbing onto a wall or using a weight as a counterbalance to get used to the movement.

Notice the formula used in a previous section for strength and conditioning still applies when using bodyweight. Hypertrophy is possible with high reps, but it comes MUCH slower than if you just picked up a barbell ran a novice progression program. Bodyweight movements are best for improving balance and as a middle path for strength in being able to manipulate your body with that strength. For continual improvement you will have to get rid of unnecessary fat. As further adaptation occurs you will find yourself better and better shape - and for lack of a better description, I've yet to see someone pump out 20 dead-hang pull-ups in a row that I wouldn't call "fit."

Programming with bodyweight is a little trickier than with barbells. You may notice that the primary movements are similar to barbell movements - you have PUSH (push-up/dips), PULL (chin-ups), CORE (hanging leg raises, bridges) and SQUATS (pistol squats). Program one exercise of each movement starting out, improving reps or strength for each one. An example routine might involve a simple 3x/week Dips, pull-ups and hanging leg raises for 5 sets of 10 reps, all the while your main focus is a 6x/week GTG program where you do single pistol squat variations. After 2-4 weeks you may be happier with your pistol squat reps so you switch it up and GTG pull-ups while maintaining your push, core and squat movements 3x/week. For further help, ask the members of this thread for advice.

 

[MjFrancis]

Nutrition

Calories
People need calories to stay alive, even the laziest couch potato does. The barest minimum of calories that you need to stay alive—without any exertion whatsoever—is called your BMR.

To calculate your BMR, first measure your bodyfat percentage, either with calipers or with a special scale. Suppose it’s 10%. Calculate your lean percentage by subtracting your bodyfat percentage from 100—in this case, that would be 90 %. Now multiply your lean percentage with your weight in kilos. If you weigh 80kg, that would be 72kg. Finally, multiply this number by 21 and add 370. This is your BMR, which in this case would be (72 * 21) + 370 = 1882. (If you don’t know your bodyfat percentage, you can also use online calculators.)

Now, if you exercise, you need to take in more calories than your BMR, of course. How much more? That depends upon the amount of calories burned.

If your activity level is moderate, your daily caloric requirements will be roughly 1.5 times your BMR (physically undemanding work + regular gym visits).

If your activity level is high (professional athlete, hours of training each day), then your daily needs are as much as 1.8 or even 2 times your BMR.

If you want to lose weight, you should reduce your intake of calories to 80 or 90% of your daily required intake. If you want to gain muscle, you should up your intake of calories up to 110 or 120% of your daily required amount (don’t expect to gain muscle by merely going to the gym and lifting weights—you gotta eat too!).

Lyle McDonald also has a formula for figuring out your maintenance level of calories. Try either one and see what works for you. Figuring out your BMR from online calculators can be tricky since there's a wide level of variance of formulas used to gauge where you are at. Remember that all of this is blanket estimation of exacting processes going on in your body - incorrect estimations can be corrected, but the important thing is that you are consistent in your measurement and approach so you are always moving towards your goals.

Protein, Carbs, Fat
Proteins are essential in the anabolic (muscle-building) processes in the body. The opposite of anabolic is catabolic (muscle-burning). If you’re interested in gaining muscle, you should make sure your protein intake is sufficient. In general it is recommended to eat around 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein per lbs of bodyweight daily.

Hormones play an important role speeding up and slowing down anabolic and catabolic processes. Insulin is one of the hormones that tells the body to store stuff—both in the form of muscle and in the form of fat. This insulin spike is why there is near-unaminous support for consuming carbs after training! Cortisol is one of the hormones that tells the body to use its storage—again, both muscle and fat.

Some people swear by a 40-30-30 diet. This means that 40% of your daily calorie intake comes from protein, 30% from carbs, and 30% from fat (this was popularized under the name ‘The Zone Diet&#8217.

There are good places to get your proteins, carbs, and fats, and there are bad places to get these nutrients:

• Good sources of carbs: green vegetables, other vegetables, fruits, brown rice, oats, whole wheat bread
• Not-so-good sources of carbs: white bread, cookies, processed sugary food
• Good sources of fat: fish, olive oil, nuts, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
• Not-so-good sources of fat: trans fats (deep fried stuff, margarine)

Some more random tips:

• ‘Whole foods’ are obviously better than processed foods (despite colorful labels that say ‘light’ or ‘healthy&#8217.
• Paleo works for a lot of people, despite the tenuous connections to any supposed paleolithic diet.
• Intermittent fasting may be helpful (but is far from necessary).
• Limit the amount of ‘cheat meals.’
• Variety is the spice of life.

Gaining Weight
Essentially, to gain weight you need to intake more calories than you are expending. That is the gist of it, but it is not always that easy--you cannot easily calculate your resting metabolic rate. So those with high metabolisms can feel like they are shit out of luck.

Here's the thing, for anyone who has trouble gaining weight: do not be afraid of getting fat. Most likely, if you had problems with being fat, you would probably be fat right now. I couldn't gain any weight--fat or otherwise. Once I stopped worrying about a little fat on my stomach (my abs are still visible), I started gaining large amounts of muscular weight. You can't have your cake and eat it too--take everything one step at a time, and that may mean a little fat.

Figuring out calories and macros can be a pain, especially if you're new to this Lyle McDonald sums it up pretty well in a two part series he wrote on his site. Part 1 and Part 2

Protein Requirements
As a general rule for athletes and those involved with strength training, 1-1.5g per pound of bodyweight is required for those wishing to maximize strength and size gains. Competitive bodybuilders and elite level athletes may get as much as 2g per pound of bodyweight, but that is extreme.

In my opinion, I think its a good idea to consume as much excess protein as you desire to gain in bodyweight. It has already been shown that as much as 1.4g/lb of bodyweight is not harmful and may be helpful, so having this "surplus" of protein is useful.

Example: We have a 160 lb individual who would like to be 180 lbs. Ignoring everything but protein, we can safely conclude he should eat at least 160g (1x) of protein a day, would do well to consume 180g of protein (a bit of surplus), and can safely and effectively consume up to 224g of protein a day (1.4x, with plenty of surplus).

Still not making progress?

GOMAD (Gallon of Milk a Day)
For the individual who has a tough time gaining weight, be it lack of appetite or too impoverished to pay for steak dinner every day, it is suggested that drinking a gallon of milk a day is a good option.  It’s assumed you’re already eating 2,000 – 3,000 calories a day, and since liquid calories are easier to consume and milk is relatively cheap in most countries, it's a great way to add more calories to your diet:

• A gallon of whole milk contains: 2400 calories, 130g fat, 180g carbohydrates, 130g protein.
• A gallon of 2% milk contains: 1939 calories, 75g fat, 187g carbohydrates, 130g protein.
• A gallon of skim milk contains: 1367 calories, 7g fat, 190g carbohydrates, 135g protein.

There’s a point of diminishing returns, and you may decide to have more or less milk (I’d rather have a half-gallon of whole milk a day than a whole gallon of skim), but if you are a low-bodyfat underweight male or consider yourself a “hardgainer” you have options.  Build up to a whole gallon a day over the course of a week.  Run this diet alongside a program of linear progression as outlined in the training OP, and no longer.  This is a lot of extra calories, and as you stall you will see diminishing returns.  You will gain fat, but if you are adding weight to your squat every training session that is an acceptable fact that can be mitigated with a fat loss diet after gains are exhausted.   Most people running GOMAD usually do so for up to 1-4 months at a time.

If you are already carrying a decent layer of fat or aren’t willing to add weight to the bar every training session, GOMAD probably isn’t for you.  It is bar none the most aggressive bulking diet short of the see-food ‘diet’ so if your goals are less ambitious drink your milk accordingly.  Ultimately this is still a diet for a novice who wants to squat 315lbs in a few short months, not for someone who wants to add a few pounds of muscle while staying lean.

If you are unhappy with the idea of drinking all that sugar and/or are lactose intolerant, you might want to bulk with two dozen eggs a day (2DEAD).  The macronutrient profile is very low-carb friendly.  Plus, the acronym 2DEAD just sounds badass.  If you are having trouble eating that many cooked eggs and aren’t concerned about salmonella, you can release your inner Rocky and drink them raw. The
cholesterol in eggs probably won't be a problem for you either.

• Two dozen eggs are roughly 1,848 calories, 126g fat, 12g carbohydrates and 150g protein.
• A dozen eggs are about 924 calories, 63g fat, 6g carbohydrates and 75g protein.

Still, exercise good judgment with whatever bulking diet you choose. Failing that, ask for advice in this thread.  With either GOMAD or 2DEAD, start slow and pace your intake throughout the day.  If neither option is appealing remember that many people can add muscle by eating 300 – 1,000 calories worth of the good food they already eat.  A little measured increase can go a long way.


Supplements
There are so many different supplements out there on the market that it’s hard to tell which ones work and which ones are bunkum. Generally, the stuff that promises steroid-like results without being steroids is a rip-off.

Protein powder: Protein powder is not a steroid, nor does it cause you to “bulk up.” It’s basically liquid food, and a good tool for those have a hard time hitting their protein quota. All powders are equal, so pick the one that offends your palette the least.

Creatine: Like protein powder, creatine has a lot of misinformation surrounding it. All types of creatine work, so don’t worry if you got mono creatine instead of micronized. It’s been shown to positively effect performance in the weight room, with the side effect of 2-4 lbs of water weight.

Fish Oil: Fish oil is a key supplement for all hard training athletes, renowned for their essential Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3's have been shown to lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation, inhibit fat storage and prevent heart attacks (by stopping clotting). And odds are you aren't getting enough of them in your diet.

Vitamins: A hard training athlete will need more vitamins and minerals than the average person. Pharmacies and supermarkets often have these items on sale, so vitamin/mineral supplementation can be simple and inexpensive. Lyle McDonald explains the key vitamins/minerals and how they work in this article.

Weight gainers: Overpriced protein powder with starch and creatine to make you think that you’re getting those fast gains. Go with milk instead.

Pre-workout stims: Stuff like Jack3d and Dark Rage fall into this category. It’s nothing special but a lot of caffeine and other stims. Don’t go crazy and think that since 1 serving was good, 8 servings must be god-like.

I've kept the explanations of these supplements brief as to not overwhelm newer posters. However, those who want to know more about these supplements would do well to read this and this. For more information on nutrition and supplements please visit examine.com.

 

[MjFrancis]

Exercise descriptions

Squat
The Squat has been in contention with the deadlift as the "king of exercises" and for good reason. It is an amazing exercise and literally works everything from the bar down. Squats strengthen your abs, back, traps, quads, hams, and glutes, not to mention ALL of the supportive muscles. No other exercise releases as much growth hormone as a good set of hard, heavy squats--and that's why they are supremely important. Whether your goal is to lose or gain weight, squats represent a movement that cannot be reproduced or replaced by ANY other exercise--period. Unless you have a condition where you are physically unable to perform squats, they SHOULD be in your routine.

(image courtesy of Starting Strength book/wiki)

Front Squat: You are aiming to keep your back as VERTICAL AS POSSIBLE. Think about having your back to a wall and sliding down it as you squat. If you bend forward at all, not only are you in danger of losing the barbell and injuring your shoulders, but your weight is most definitely shifting forward and you'll go to your toes. Stance should be medium to close, as wide puts your hips in a position where it is mechanically best to sit back...and you don't want to do that with a front squat.
High Bar Squat: This is still a fairly verticle movement--you will not be getting much, if any, hip drive unless you are very flexible and that's okay. Like the front squat, this is quad dominant. With the bar so high up, if you sit back, gravity is wanting to pull the bar forward, and your weight will shift forward to your toes. Instead, think about sitting down BETWEEN your legs, as if you were sitting into a chair under you, not behind you. Can also envision your feet strapped to the ceiling, and you have to pull yourself "up" so your ass touches the ceiling (thanks to Dan John for that tip). Depending on flexibility, it is usually best to do this with a medium/close stance, as a wide stance tends to force your butt to go backwards due to hip flexors.
Low Bar Squat: Because the bar is located further down the back/closer to the hips, it is easier to get into a position of sitting back. You must focus on sitting BACKWARDS. Usually this is enough to keep your weight on your heels, but your hand position on the bar can actually influence this: if you are gripping close to your shoulders but don't have good flexibility, the inherent tightness will push the bar FORWARD as you squat down, and your weight will come up to your toes. Use a wider grip until you get shoulder flexibility; you WANT to be able to use a close grip as a tight upper back is crucial as the weight gets heavier. Use a medium to wide stand--close stances increase the horizontal length from your knee to your hip on the horizontal plane, and this makes it hard to keep the weight on your heels.

1. Take a shoulder width stance. Slightly angle your feet outwards, but within 45 degrees
2. The placement of your hands on the bar should be as close to your shoulders as you comfortably can make it. This will help you to create a "shelf" on your upper back to place the bar, and maintain tightness. If you cannot get your hands close to your shoulders due to flexibility, don't force it--just take a wider grip. Forcing it will result in the bar pushing your upper body forward and fucking up your form/center of gravity
3. The backs of your hands should be inline with your forearms. This helps to lock the bar between your hands/arms and back, and takes stress off your shoulders (VERY important with heavy weight)
4. If you are going to look up when you squat, don't let yourself become more upright and thus shift your weight forward. I like to look directly ahead, if not down toward the floor in front of me
5. Keep your weight on your heels or the middle of your foot. Lift up your toes if you need to!
   
6. ALWAYS keep your knees in line with your toes--actively force them outward. If they buckle in as you squat, LOWER the weight and work on your form
7. Descend by moving your hips backward first. Your knees will move over your toes in the first movement of the squat--this is fine
8. Go down until you reach parallel (the crease of your hips is below your knee) or lower, but do NOT allow your knees to travel forward at the bottom of the movement
9. KEEP YOUR WEIGHT ON YOUR HEEL/MIDFOOT! Raise the weight by initiating the movement with your hips--feel like a chain is attached to your hips and pulling you up. You may want a training partner to put a hand on the back of your pelvis and tell you to push it up when you are squatting. Hip drive is most important!
10. Finish the rep with full lockout--knees and hips

Deadlift
The Deadlift is perhaps the most "functional" exercise, or at least it appears to be. Simply put, you are lifting a weight from the ground, up. Involving a massive amount of musculature in the movement, the deadlift is pivotal in growth and strength, and in general health. It used to be named the "health lift", but I guess someone decided that didn't inspire ball-shaking fear, so it was renamed the "deadlift". And that's what it is: the weight begins dead on the ground, and is reset to "dead" at the bottom--no bouncing. A unique feature of the deadlift is that it does not have an eccentric movement to begin it, thus further making it difficult as you are not able to rely on the muscle's stretch reflex to aid in the concentric movement.

Conventional Deadlift
The conventional deadlift is the "standard" deadlift. Your arms start on the outside of your legs when beginning the movement. It works virtually all of the muscles of the back, your hamstrings, your quads, and your grip, in addition to all the connective muscles and tissue in between. Those with a "long armed/short legged" anthropometry do especially well with this, as they are able to stay more upright in order to incorporate more leg drive.

1. Approach the bar so that the bar is above the top of your feet. Your feet should be 12-16 inches apart. The angle of your feet will vary and is personal preference: some prefer toes straight forward, others prefer their toes angled outward slightly.
2. You want your arms to be as "straight down" to the bar as possible. The wider your grip, the higher the bar has to travel in the pull. Ideally, you want your grip as close to your legs as possible without interfering with the pull or your knees
3. You grip should be overhand (pronated). Use the overhand grip for as many sets as possible--this will ensure maximum grip work. Once you experience fatigue or are doing a max attemp, you may switch to an over/under grip (one hand supinated, the other pronated). This is better for grip purposes that an overhand grip, as an overhand has two fingers on one side of the bar and eight on the other side. Over/under has five fingers on each side of the bar.
4. As you reach down to grab the bar, do not let your shins move the bar from over the middle of your feet. The bar should touch your shins.
5. Optimal pulling position is ensured by positioning your shoulders/scapulae directly over, if not slightly in front of the bar. Ideally, you want to get your ass as low as you can WITHOUT moving your shoulders behind the bar--otherwise, you will be pulling backward, not upward
6. Never bend your elbows. Your arms are like string or bands, just holding onto the weight. You can grip HARD, but do not bend your arms unless you want to tear a bicep or fuck up an elbow
7. Head should be neutral, looking forward or slightly downward.
8. Begin the movement by pushing up with your legs. Push like you're pushing your feet toward China; move the earth. Maintain the back angle until the moment the bar passes over the knees, then push your hips forward and straighten your torso. The bar should be in contact with your body the entire time. The farther the bar moves from the body, the more your lower back will straight.
9. End with everything in full extension--arms, hips, knees.
10. Reverse the movement to set it down. Do not bother doing this slowly, but still, control it. Make sure the weight is dead on the ground before attempting the next rep.

Bench Press
The Bench Press is one of the best builders of maximal upper body strength. While it does not correlate to any real world movement and has less athletic applications than the standing press, the fact that the bench press allows you to use more weight than the press, incline bench, or decline bench means that it is the best way to overload your pressing muscles (triceps and deltoids/pecs). It should not be glorified: you may have seen guys at the gym with huge chests and small back, guys whose shoulders are caved inward, etc. Don't become this.

Press
The standing press is a more "complete" movement than the bench press. It involves more muscle groups and follows the kinetic chain from the feet to the weight, similar to a deadlift or squat. However, the mechanics of the movement do not allow nearly as much weight to be used as the bench press, so it is usually overlooked. This is terrible--presses should be a regular part of everyone's routine. Properly done, they will help with shoulder imbalances, rotator cuff strength, and shoulder flexibility.

Bent Over Row
The Bent Over Row is a great exercise to complement the bench press and add pulling strength and size to your back. A powerful back seems to be a rarity these days--too much emphasis on lat pull downs and other exercises that don't allow enough of an overload. The bent over row not only strengthens your trapezius, your rhomboids, your biceps, and your deltoids, but also your lower back and spinal erectors due to the near parallel to the ground position your upper body is in.

Power Clean
The Power Clean is one of the best exercises one can do for developing explosive power. It is sort of a go-between exercise between standard lifting and Olympic weightlifting. Involving all the major pulling muscle groups (hamstrings, lower back, spinal erectors, trapezius, rhomboids, and to a lesser extent, biceps), it is a very quick movement that is fairly easy to learn, compared to the full Olympic counterpart.

Pull-ups
One of the best upper back, lat and bicep exercises you can do. Perform them hands facing towards you (chins) or away (pull-ups). Using a neutral grip or gymnastic rings is easier on the joints (more important if you're old or do hundreds a week). They're great for grinding to failure or doing small sets throughout the day or between pushing exercises. Add weight with a dip belt or dumbbell between the legs for added resistance.


Thoughts on Cardio

You can start out by reading death to cardio. With that knowledge replace cardio with skill training. Don't run 5k every day to lose weight. Run 5k to get better at running 5k. If you want to improve your conditioning and be in better shape I've yet to find an article better than Jim Wendler's Conditioning 101. If you are sedentary or focused on Starting Strength don't jump into high-intensity conditioning right away. With beginner's strength programs the only conditioning I would suggest is walking a few miles 5x/week. Work up to it if you don't walk as it is. It's not glamorous, but for 3-6 months you're going to be kicking ass in the weight room. It will start out easy but if you're doing too much you'll crash hard. Introduce conditioning incrementally after you're done with the beginner's program (knowing that it will affect recovery). Failing that, do as little as necessary for your sport. You can't go all out in the weight room and the track and expect everything to progress (especially on a diet).

You should be able to run some sort of conditioning program alongside whatever training you have, the key is choose something you actually want to do and program effectively to your work capacity and recovery. High intensity interval training (sprinting off/on for ten minutes) is more efficient than slow, steady cardio (jogging for an hour), hence the Conditioning 101 suggestions. But again, don't do this for fat loss, just look at the metabolic conditioning as a bonus and remember the more intense the conditioning the more draining on your central nervous system it is. For fat loss, strength or muscle hypertrophy cardio isn't necessary. There's better things to martyr yourself over. However if you have a fitness goal that happens to include conditioning, want to run a marathon or improve your heart rate, find something you like to do and have at it.


Resources (websites, books, etc.)
Books

• Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe & Lon Kilgore
• Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe & Lon Kilgore
• The Strongest Shall Survive by Bill Starr
• Power to the People! by Pavel Tsatsouline
• The Purposeful Primitive by Marty Gallagher
• Jim Wendler's 5/3/1
  • 5/3/1 Calculator

Websites

• RossTraining's DIY home equipment list
• Starting Strength Wiki
• Mark Rippetoe Q&A
• 70's Big

 

[MjFrancis]

Reputable Sources

One of the flaws of the internet era is that there is simply too much information out there. What's true? What's bogus? Who can you trust? New posters most likely have heard a great deal of things from a great deal of sites, many of them contradicting one another. I've assembled a list of reputable figures in the exercise and nutrition fields whose works have benefited myself and many other long time posters in this thread.

Exercise

Mark Rippetoe: Strength coach, retired Texas powerlifter, author of Starting Strength and owner of startingstrength.com. Rippetoe specializes in training novice lifters with his model of linear progression, i.e, adding a little more weight to the bar each time. He likes to prescribe aggressive weight gain for underweight trainees with the tried and true Gallon of Milk a Day (GOMAD).

Jim Wendler: Powerlifter, writer at Elitefts, and author of the famous 5/3/1 program. While Rippetoe has more of a scientific background in his work, Wendler has more of a "Just do some fucking work" type mentality. That's not to say he's ignorant. The man believes in lifting heavy and hard, not eating like shit, and doing lots of hill sprints

Justin Lascek: Owner of 70sbig.com. Lascek's view have evolved over time into a model that emphasis strength, mobility, and smart conditioning. He has a philosophy that your program should fit your training goals, instead of the other way around. He has coached many successful strength athletes, like his friend, Chris Riley, who recently deadlifted 700 lbs. Also, creator of the CFWF program, a popular strength and conditioning program in the Crossfit community.

Kelly Starrett: Creator of Mobility Wod and flexibility fiend. His site has hundreds of videos to fix common mobility issues in novice and advanced athletes alike.

Nutrition

Lyle McDonald: Owner of bodyrecompostion.com and author of such dieting books as the Ultimate Diet 2.0, The Ketogenic Diet, and The Rapid Fat Loss Diet. McDonald bases all his dietary work in hard science, obsessively searching out every last detail on how nutrition affects the body. His site has a ton of free articles that go as deep or as shallow as you want them to. You really can't go wrong with his advice.

Alan Aragon: Author of Girth Control and owner of www.alanaragon.com/. Much like Lyle, he bases all his findings in hard science. He moderates on bodybuilding.com sometimes and enjoys making fun of broscience.

Martin Berkham: Creator of the legendary Lean Gains program, an intermittent fasting diet which has the diet fast for 16 hours and then proceed to have a 8 hour feeding window. His advice has made quite a few jacked guy and gals into super-jacked guy and gals. He occasionally updates his site, and while talks of a book are going around, nothing has come from it yet. Like Aragon and McDonald, he makes heavy of scientific date to explain why it's okay to fast for short amounts of time and eat carbs past 5 p.m. without becoming obese overnight. The only problem is that the specifics of his program have never really been explained by Berkham, however information gathered from numerous interviews and articles have allowed people to piece together the program with successful results.

Non-reputable sources

Bodybuilding.com: The site is a mixed bag. A lot of the articles are broscience, and many of the forum posters are whiny teens in search of the mystical Six-Pack. Not a bad place to buy supplements though.

Scooby: A jacked guy on YouTube who gives out advice in his videos. He's pretty nice guy from what I've seen, but some of his advice is questionable. A good rule of thumb is not to look up to lean, well muscled men as fitness gurus. Many of them only know to coach and train themselves and only have antidotal evidence why their stuffs works.

The Hodge Twins: The same as Scooby, two yammering heads in front of a camera on YouTube. Look for people with actual coaching experience.

4chan /fit: Not even once.

Guys at the gym: The guy with the 225 bench max after 4 years of training is not the best source of training information in the world. Neither is the guy who quarter squats 405. These people, for the most part, are not familiar with your training or your goals and give irrelevant or wrong advice.


Thanks

For their previous contributions, let us thank lil smoke (logo), perryfarrell (nutrition advice), maharg (super mod hack skills), Mr. City (reputable sources) and Anton Sugar (for putting the whole thing together). The old threads have been archived here:

OT1: Official Fitness Thread of Whipping Your Butt into Shape
OT2: Official Fitness Thread of Triceps Kickbacks, Swiss Ball Squats, and Testosterdrama
OT3: Fitness |OT3| BroScience, Protein Dysentery, XXL Calf Implants, and Squat Rack Hogs
OT4: Fitness |OT4| Squat Booty, Summer Cuts, and Super Swoletrophy

NeoGAF Fitocracy Group

 

[Szu]

Woo-hoo, we're back.

 

[calza]

what kind of bicep curls do you guys do?

 

[CrankyJay]

Sweet, we actually made it without anyone breaking up the OP.

 

[SeanR1221]

what kind of bicep curls do you guys do?

I do them in the squat rack.

 

[Dash27]

what kind of bicep curls do you guys do?

All of them.

Great OP!

 

[SeanR1221]

All of them.

Great OP!

Ah, the standing zottman incline isolated preacher curl.

 

[Petrie]

Sweet, we actually made it without anyone breaking up the OP.

I'll get it next time!

Now we really need to lighten up the OP information. It really does have some stuff that needs to be edited down.

what kind of bicep curls do you guys do?

Curl rack. Don't know why dudes are always doing reverse abdominal curls with the bar on their back though. Dumbasses.

 

[despire]

Just in case you missed it MjFrancis but were again missing the write-up for the GSLP since it was in a quote

But it's good to be in a new thread!

 

[SquiddyCracker]

New thread smell.

I like the level system at Fitocracy.

 

[Petrie]

New thread smell.

I like the level system at Fitocracy.

It's a cool system, just don't let it change the way you workout too much. Go for results, not points.

 

[Nibel]

2 hours until peak time guys

FUAAAARKKK

 

[kylej]

how do i get toned

 

[SquiddyCracker]

Yeah, I have a nagging feeling the point system doesn't at all reflect the difficulty or intensity of movements.

 

[SeanR1221]

I'll get it next time!

Now we really need to lighten up the OP information. It really does have some stuff that needs to be edited down.



Curl rack. Don't know why dudes are always doing reverse abdominal curls with the bar on their back though. Dumbasses.

I think Strong Lifts 5x5 should at least get a mention.

http://s3.stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-report.pdf

 

[Dark Stalkers]

how do i get lean and tone like brad pitt in fight club

 

[Szu]

what kind of bicep curls do you guys do?

I tend to end my arm workouts with 21's DB curls.

 

[Incontinentia Buttocks]

Yeah, I have a nagging feeling the point system doesn't at all reflect the difficulty or intensity of movements.

It seems to give a lot of points to compound lifts so that strikes me as quite fair.

 

[EviLore]

how do i get lean and tone like brad pitt in fight club

GOMAD

 

[Octavian]

t=475941"]
Q: I'm intimated of going to the gym for the first time. Won't the big guys laugh at me?
A: Contrary to popular belief, most gym are not populated by Biff from Back to the Future. Hordes of meatheads will not try to descend on you and try to bully you. In fact, many gyms have a supportive and positive atmosphere. One of the biggest issues that too many people will try to give you advice in the gym.

So true. The "meatheads" are actually the nicest guys in the gym. Think about it- they would love to tell you what they do and how it works for them. Because the attention is all on them. That guy would love to say "yeah man this is what I do for my triceps, I find that to work the best."

Weightlifting is more of an art than a science. Picture that guy benching over yonder as Socrates. That guy in the squat rack? Aristotle. In the corner doing pull-ups? That's Diogenes.

 

[Dash27]

For that beginner routine 3 sets of 5 sounds like a lot. I dont want to wake up and look like Lou Ferigno, should do 2 sets?

 

[SeanR1221]

It seems to give a lot of points to compound lifts so that strikes me as quite fair.

It's still lopsided. Why do good mornings get you barely anything? Why does an overhead squat get you less points than a squat?

Squid you can friend me on there, seanr1221.

 

[CliqWriter]

Long time lurker and partial poster in here. I think ill start posting everyday, get used to me!!!

Anyways, I do several heavy triceps workouts w/o any problems. But when I try dips (which I used to have no issues with) I get a sharp pain in my elbow. Any idea what I should do?

 

[SeanR1221]

Long time lurker and partial poster in here. I think ill start posting everyday, get used to me!!!

Anyways, I do several heavy triceps workouts w/o any problems. But when I try dips (which I used to have no issues with) I get a sharp pain in my elbow. Any idea what I should do?

Sounds inflamed. Rest it.

 

[Incontinentia Buttocks]

It's still lopsided. Why do good mornings get you barely anything? Why does an overhead squat get you less points than a squat?

Squid you can friend me on there, seanr1221.

I used to read their forums quite a bit and the constant moaning from different groups regarding the points made me chuckle.

 

[_Isaac]

Has there been a curls in the squat rack joke already?

FAKE EDIT: Yes, there it is.

 

[Tawney Bomb]

I do them in the squat rack.

This is truly the only way.

 

[Mr. Fix]

Near-perfect timing as I just started again last week. I spent the last half of last year on the beginner routine, and mid-way through I incorporated shrugs, but I almost never felt like it was affecting the trap region. It always came last, so at that point during the session, I'm completely numb up there so I can't tell if it's just me messing up on the execution. Without weights though I can actually feel the contractions if I just practice the motion, but even with low weights I go numb up there. Any suggestions?

Also, my left shoulder blade seems to crap out randomly (notably when I do perform shrugs), but usually consistently after a week. It just starts to feel sharp/out of place. Maybe it's balance/distribution issues?

 

[Wolfe]

There's an older dude at my gym that always loads the leg press up with something like 10 plates on each side and then only does partial ROM reps. I'm not trying to knock the guy or anything but it just makes me wonder why people do shit like that, I even remember one night a trainer was chatting with him about it and the guy said he should be doing more weight!

Near-perfect timing as I just started again last week. I spent the last half of last year on the beginner routine, and mid-way through I incorporated shrugs, but I almost never felt like it was affecting the trap region. It always came last, so at that point during the session, I'm completely numb up there so I can't tell if it's just me messing up on the execution. Without weights though I can actually feel the contractions if I just practice the motion, but even with low weights I go numb up there. Any suggestions?

My traps kinda blew up (in the good way) from deadlifting alone it feels like, although I was also doing 5x5 deadlifts 3 times a week since a friend of mine was helping me out get started and I just kinda ended up doing that. It was before I was paying too much attention to this thread though and I've moved over to a normal SS routine. So I guess my advice is deadlifts!

 

[Davidion]

Cool, new thread.

My left foot's been hurting recently, specifically near the top of my feet, outside middle. I'm pretty certain it's from the couple of times when my squats form slipped and I shifted weight from my heel to the front of my foot mid-squat. I'm concerned that it may be a metatarsal stress fracture, though that's baseless conjecture.

Sigh, like I needed more bills.

Also, had my first sighting of buddy push-ups in the squat racks recently. It confused me.

 

[MjFrancis]

Sweet, we actually made it without anyone breaking up the OP.

We may disappoint.

Just in case you missed it MjFrancis but were again missing the write-up for the GSLP since it was in a quote

Gotcha! If there's other stuff missing in the meantime, let me know.

Now we really need to lighten up the OP information. It really does have some stuff that needs to be edited down.

If it can be said succinctly, it will soon be so. As resources permit fat will be burned to reveal the cut and jacked meat of the OP.

 

[ToxicAdam]

how do i get lean and tone like brad pitt in fight club

Only walk in dark rooms and always be professionally lit from a side angle.

 

[GrapeApes]

I'm looking for a new protein supplement. The last one I had tasted like ass and I don't want to pony up 50 bucks for ON. What's a brand that more affordable that doesn't make me feel like it's a chore drinking.

 

[Octavian]

I'm looking for a new protein supplement. The last one I had tasted like ass and I don't want to pony up 50 bucks for ON. What's a brand that more affordable that doesn't make me feel like it's a chore drinking.

Not necessarily directly replying to you, but in general always check GNC for clearance shit. You should never buy anything full-price at that store, but they always have tons of shit usually on clearance, marked with the little red tags. I just picked up two jugs ON egg protein for 19 dollars each.

 

[MjFrancis]

I'll get it next time!

http://i.imgur.com/kLqwHvP.gif

And we will remember that you called OT6 twenty thousand posts from now.

 

[sphinx]

dear Fitness-GAF, I want to work out and shape up my body but I don't want to get huge and look like hulk, all off a sudden I am seeing all those muscles appear on my body, HELP!! any tips on how to prevent that?

Spoiler

OT5 Fuck yeah lol

EDIT: Damn you Dash27!! XD

 

[ezrarh]

dear Fitness-GAF, I want to work out and shape up my body but I don't want to get huge and look like hulk, all off a sudden I am seeing all those muscles appear on my body, HELP!! any tips on how to prevent that?

Spoiler

OT5 Fuck yeah lol

Have you tried eliminating bear testosterone from your daily regimen?

 

[Mr. Fix]

My traps kinda blew up (in the good way) from deadlifting alone it feels like, although I was also doing 5x5 deadlifts 3 times a week since a friend of mine was helping me out get started and I just kinda ended up doing that. It was before I was paying too much attention to this thread though and I've moved over to a normal SS routine. So I guess my advice is deadlifts!

Thanks. I should probably avoid shrugs altogether then. Deadlifts are fine for me. Luckily, I no longer have the dip in my traps.

Man, I'd really love to do GOMAD, but I'm fine with 2800 calories a day. I figure that doing GOSMAD (soy) would be really expensive.

 

[sphinx]

Have you tried eliminating bear testosterone from your daily regimen?

I don't know what to do, maybe I am just too manly for this.

I was doing 20 push ups and 20 crunches EVERY day but I'll think I'll cut it down to 10 each, hope that helps.

 

[Cheeto]

Can anyone recommend a good total gym with at least 1421 cable exercises?

 

[Petrie]

Class action lawsuit involving ON protein back in 2008. Don't know if any of you qualify, but thought I'd call attention to it.

http://www.enzymesettlement.com/Default.aspx

 

[Noema]

This is truly the only way.

 

[velociraptor]

I tend to end my arm workouts with 21's DB curls.

What weight?

 

[Dash27]

Class action lawsuit involving ON protein back in 2008. Don't know if any of you qualify, but thought I'd call attention to it.

http://www.enzymesettlement.com/Default.aspx

Damn made me nervous for a second there. I use ON whey but apparently the lawsuit is over misleading advertising with regards to Aminogen, not any health concern.

 

[andycapps]

Hey guys, I'm trying to lose 40 pounds in two weeks. Think I should try juicing?

Spoiler

LOL

Also, I've been working out for about a week and I'm getting so many muscles already. Any advice on how to slow that down? I don't want to look huge like Arnold.

 

[Sub_Level]

I've started going to the gym a lot this week after a couple months of not working out at all. My routine resembles the starter workout posted in the OP (minus the deadlift and with 4 days instead of 3). Feels great but I'm concerned about my bodyweight. I'm 5'7" and 145 pounds aka manlet. Should I weigh more or should I focus on lowering bodyfat while maintaining a similar weight? Is cardio good? Compared to lifting and cardio, I never thought eating would be the hardest part about getting those aesthetics.