Hey, I’m 34, just starting out here. (ok casually for 3 years, but serious now, hell I’m on T-Nation now) Looking to build endurance and upper body strength, Add some size (hit 200-210… currently 185 but carry a normal persons amount of FAT) I’m willing to put the time in the gym, but don’t want to waste it, so you experienced guys out there give me some advice, please.
How often should I be working out? 4 days a week, 6 days?
What supplements are actually worth my time? NO2, Whey, Tribulus, Animal pak (Why is it 11 pills to make one vitamin pak?)
do I need to eat 6 times a day, or can 3 squares cover it?
what should be my realistic goals? Bench 200# by next week, or 1 month? I can do 150# now for 8 reps…
As much as you want! 3-4 times a week is a sweet spot for a lot of people.
Whey - easier than cooking a steak after your workout. Use it.
Creatine - Its cheap and it works. Use it.
Fish Oil - everyone here swears by this. I just eat fish personally but its worth a look if you can’t stomach canned fish everyday like I can (and I also eat flax, etc. to get a good amount of Omega-3).
Otherwise beginners really don’t need to supplement with anything more. (Get ready for people to call me a biatch)
6 times! Once you get into this habit you won’t look back. Trying to loose weight? Frequent feedings will speed up metabolism. Trying to gain weight? Frequent feedings will enable you to consume more calories. EAT FREQUENTLY!
You can read about strenth standards here on T-Nation but a beginner level is bench 1.25 x BW, Squat 1.5 x BW, Deadlift 2 x BW. Aim for this.
Perform Deadlifts, Squats and Bench. Then add whatever exercises you wish.
Warm-Up sets are golden, skim through the beginner FAQs and threads because they’re extremely well written and very helpful to lead you to a already sizeable body of work, key articles and training posts.
Also use the search function as many issues have been brought-up and discussed many times.
6 times is pretty good, some that are more religious will eat every 3 hours on the dot, even setting an alarm to wake to eat.
150-> 200 in 7 days is possible but not for more then 1-2x reps, 1 set with a spotter.
Thanks for the advice guys. BTW, my avatar is generously enhanced thanks to photoshop… hopefully soon my arm will actually be that size.
So Whey, Creatine, and Fish oil are worth my money. Go easy so you don’t get hurt, but 3-4 times a week using the basic lifts will get good results.
and I should have started 20 years ago (I was a lazy punk drinking and smoking back then), but I can’t turn back the clock… so don’t waste time. keep up on going 3-4 times a week. And have fun.
