Hi All,
I have been reading this site for over a month now. This wealth of information thrilled me at first but now I’m just frustrated for not being able to put it to good use.
I am 24 years old, 180 cm talland weigh 72 Kgs(160 Pounds for the Americans) and I have spent my entire adult life so far sitting on my ass. I don’t have much fat on my body except some cushioning in the tummy area.
Over two months ago I decided to get fit and joined a gym for some cardio. Deciding that wasn’t enough I started weight training soon after.
I have made significant progress on the weights that I was lifting - E.g. I started on the bench with 5 Kg and now am at 25Kg.
But I dont see much of a difference in the mirror or on the weighing scale. I have started Chad Waterbury’s TBT (Total Body Training) this week, after 8 weeks of my Gym trainer’s “template” plan, revolving mostly around isolation exercises.
I am eating reasonably larger amounts than before, and make sure to include lots of proteins (mostly milk, chicken, eggs and Tuna)
The only supplement I am currently taking is Whey (pre and post workout, pre and post sleep). And I sip a carb drink during workouts.
My questions:
Do I need stuff like Creatine and BCAAs? Or will I start to see some noticeable differences without them?
Is progress this slow for everyone in the beginning or am I not cut up to it?
Please help me, 'cause the last thing I want at this stage is to lose interest and stop going to the Gym.
You should be lifting heavier, a lot heavier. I never lifted a weight before I got into training just over a year ago and I started on 25-30kg on the bench.
You don’t NEED any supplements such as creatine and BCAA’s, but they do help. Fish oil’s and food are probably the best staples of a diet.
You should see better results when you are just starting off, in the first few months to a year.
You should pick a goal and focus on that, use compound exercises mainly and sleep a lot. It does take a while to see results, just be patient and keep at it.
Yo. We weigh the excact same ammout. And I’m 14 years old. So a tip from me is to eat a lot! Eat eat eat eat! I don’t really know a lot compared to others. But I’ll share some beginners info:
That’s nice to remember. Also. Do everything you do really slowly. Don’t do the reps fast. Do them sloooow. NO! Slower. As slow as possible. :d
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This advice is untrue. A decade or so ago this was the common belief in the gym. Do a search around here and you’ll find out that super-slow reps are a thing of the past. I work with a 1-0-1 tempo
[quote]Tmmmey wrote:
Yo. We weigh the excact same ammout. And I’m 14 years old. So a tip from me is to eat a lot! Eat eat eat eat! I don’t really know a lot compared to others. But I’ll share some beginners info:
Thanks for your responses everyone. I am at it. I have been sedentary with absolutely no physical activity all my life, so I guess my body will need some time to adapt to all this sudden activity surge.
Thanks again. But one more thing… My trainer insists I do squats and Military Presses on the Smith machine. Is that fine or will that be less beneficial than the free barbells? PS: Thats where everyone does these exercises. We dont have a normal squat rack in our gym.
I wouldn’t do too much of anything in the smith machine, it has a way of wrecking shoulders if overused. So just learn to power clean or use the rack for military presses
[quote]bronx_marauder wrote:
Thanks for your responses everyone. I am at it. I have been sedentary with absolutely no physical activity all my life, so I guess my body will need some time to adapt to all this sudden activity surge.
Thanks again. But one more thing… My trainer insists I do squats and Military Presses on the Smith machine. Is that fine or will that be less beneficial than the free barbells? PS: Thats where everyone does these exercises. We dont have a normal squat rack in our gym.[/quote]
First of all, the reason you weren’t gaining in the beginning is because your “trainer” had you doing, as you called it, his “template of isolation movements.”
That is just plain horrible.
My 16 year old brother has just started lifting for football and I have been lifting with him. I have him do 0, absolutely 0 isolation movements, until he establishes his base.
We have been doing squats (and single leg variations), power cleans, deadlifts (and variations), bench press, weighted dips, weighted chin-ups, rows, and overhead presses.
The kid is growing like a weed. He started out weighing 145 and a month into our lifting he has put on 10 lbs. When he first started his bench max was 140, he now does this for 5-6 reps. He has been eating a shitload, as well (this is probably more important than lifting).
My advice. Ditch the trainer because he blows. And use a real squat rack/switch to a gym that actually has a squat rack.
