No matter where you are on the scale of training experience a couple of hours reading on here provides some basic fundamentals that will hold through to the end of your training life. They come from some very experienced people who have taken the time to share.
Don’t attempt 5/3/1 BBB if you don’t get the “eating” thing.
I can do that… (well could before covid shut down my gym)
this thread
Who the hell has that kind of time for foreplay…?
People without kids
True story.
OK, I started my training log here: Clueless Lifter
The eat, eat, eat advice will make you fat. Been there done that. I graduated high school at 155, dirty bulked up to 225, and then actually learned about proper nutrition and leaned down to 175 at 10% at one point.
But people give the eat, eat, eat advice because:
I assume you’re a beginner as this is in a beginner forum.
What I wish someone had told me 22 years ago when I started…
For training…read Stuart McRoberts Beyond Brawn.
For diet…though not available back then, I wish I could have read Jason Ferruggia’s Renegade Diet.
That’s a name you don’t hear too often any more.
I agree with this but I think the eat eat advice is still right for particular people. If you’re the OP as an example who is a 30 yr old 135lb male. Making a big assumption without asking 100 questions, this tells me he doesn’t know how to eat to grow. Even if he was 160 and dieted to 135 it still tells me he doesn’t know how to eat to grow. If we tell the OP just add 200 calories a day and see how you go. What do you think the outcome or results will be ? My guess is zero gain. Even by telling the OP to just eat lots more, I am suggesting that they wont do that. They may think they are but they wont because if they could eat more they wouldn’t be 135 in the first place. In some cases the best advice is to eat as much good food as they can and train hard for a year. Sure they will add some fat, butt hey will learn to eat, learn to train and build some muscle. The fat can be dialed back later once they build some muscle.
It doesn’t matter how simple, or how explicit the guidelines are. People will always find a way to fuck it up somehow. I should know, I’ve shot myself in the foot a lot.
If I got the chance to start over with myself and articulate a framework for success for that guy, that would have not had me fuck it up — assuming I followed it — would have been this,
When progress stalls on 2 for two weeks and the scale is still moving up, here’s the rule:
Barring access to the internet (above). I would have started training like this,
and then when progressed stalled out progressed to this,
Estep’s Three Days a Week Beginner Program
Workout A
A. Abdominal Work: Leg Raise– 50 or Crunch– 50 or Jackknife– 50
B. Squat– Two warmup sets (15 reps and 8 reps). Work sets: 3 x 8, then add weight and do 2 x 5
C. Bench Press– Two warmup sets (15 reps and 8 reps). Work sets: 3 x 8, then add weight and do 2 x 5
D. Seated DB Curl – 3 x 8
E. Incline Tricep Extension (or dips) – 3 x 8
Workout B
A. Abdominal Work: Leg Raise– 50 or Crunch– 50 or Jackknife– 50
B. Deadlift – Two warmup sets (15 reps and 8 reps). Work sets: 3 x 8, then add weight and do 2 x 5
C. DB Row – 3 x 8
D. Behind the Neck Press (or military press) – 3 x 8
E. Shrugs – 4 x 6
F. Calf Raise – 3 x 12
And then when I start failing on that, again, presuming weight was going up, I would have done CTs double progression
DAY 1
A. Back squat
5 sets of 3-5 reps using the double progression method
B. Front squat with heels elevated
3 sets of 6-8 reps using the double progression method
C. Bulgarian split squat
3 sets of 6-8 reps/leg using the double progression method
D1. Leg extension 8-12 reps
D2. Lying leg curl 8-12 reps
D3. BB Hip thrust or kneeling hip thrust with band 8-12 reps
Done as a circuit 3-4 times
DAY 2
A1. Bench press
5 sets of 3-5 reps using the double progression method
A2. Barbell row or “chinese row” where your chest is supported on a bench and parallel to the floor
5 sets of 3-5 reps using the double progression method
B1. Close-grip floor press
3 sets of 6-8 reps using the double progression method
B2. T-bar row or seated cable row
3 sets of 6-8 reps/leg using the double progression method
C. DB incline press
3 sets of 6-8 reps/leg using the double progression method
D1. DB flies or pec deck machine 8-12 reps
D2. DB front raise 8-12 reps
D3. Rope triceps extension 8-12 reps
Done as a circuit 3-4 times
DAY 3
A. Deadlift
5 sets of 3-5 reps using the double progression method
B. Romanian deadlift or goodmorning
3 sets of 6-8 reps using the double progression method
C. Barbell shrugs or snatch-grip high pull from hang
3 sets of 6-8 reps/leg using the double progression method
D1. Back extension 8-12 reps
D2. Lying leg curl 8-12 reps
D3. DB shrugs 8-12 reps
Done as a circuit 3-4 times
DAY 4
A1. Military press or push press
5 sets of 3-5 reps using the double progression method
A2. Chin-ups or lat-pulldown
5 sets of 6-8 reps using the double progression method
B. High incline DB press
3 sets of 6-8 reps using the double progression method
C. Arnold press
3 sets of 6-8 reps/leg using the double progression method
D1. DB laterals raise 8-12 reps
D2. Rear delts machine 8-12 reps
D3. DB front raise 8-12 reps
Done as a circuit 3 times
E1. Straight-arm pulldown 8-12 reps
E2. Preacher curl 8-12 reps
E3. Hammer curl 8-12 reps
Done as a circuit 3 times
After that, either a BB-split or 5/3/1 depending on what I wanted.
Whole foods (not exhaustive):
Chicken/turkey,
Fish (salmon, tuna, …),
Rice (any kind),
Eggs, and egg whites,
Sweet potatoes,
Avocado
Beef (doesn’t even have to be lean)
Occasionally bacon
Yoghurt/Greek Yoghurt
Cottage Cheese
Oatmeal/buckwheat
Quinoa
Fruits, berries, and any vegetable
That’s an interesting concept “how would you train newbie you”.
I think I’d keep it simple, bearing in mind I come from a very different place than I believe you do.
I would do:
That’s it really. I don’t think it needs to be more complicated. I seem to be able to fuck up even those simple instructions, so I don’t trust myself with more.
This seems like good advice no matter your experience. Mine would have been:
• you’re an athlete so train eccentrics and isometrics or your knees will blow out
• drink less you alcoholic fuck
• eat less shit you fat fuck
• record yourself to check your form because nobody else can in this gym
I remember those years (with regards to myself)
I’d have to add,
But then again I never trained while being a smoker so it doesn’t apply as neatly.
On that topic, today is a sunny day. I have a balcony nowadays. Working from home, or at least trying to. Really felt like packing a pipe with some tobacco and just burning through that. At the height of my pipe-smoking career I’d nurse a bowl for a solid hour (really changes the implication of going for a smoke break). A glass of whiskey to go with that would’ve been oh so very enjoyable in the short term.
Yes, you and I come from different places and want to go slightly different places.
I tried, and hopefully succeeded, in making it abundantly clear that’s what I’d put myself through and I was not telling @Digity that this is what he should do.
Ever since I read @T3hPwnisher express a sentiment that went “I don’t tell others what to do, I can only say what I would do if I was in their shoes” I’ve tried to do the same by changing the way I phrase myself.
For me it’s a reasonable way to communicate, as everyone is always going to have their own things that go into the equation and I want to be considerate of that.
Life-stress, different goals, other priorities, injuries, circumstances, and so forth. I cannot assume, just by its omission, that the person I’m conversing with shares much in life with me. It’s like the phrase “common sense”. My common sense, as informed by my culture and upbringing is probably not comparable to someone across the pond.
It doesn’t seem fair to tell that person what they should do then, seeing as there are so many unknowns.
And just because someone articulates something as a goal, that might not necessarily translate to it being their primary goal in life either. Maybe what they want to maintain some level of fitness, after first providing for their family, and be a good role-model for their kids and the way they convey that is simply stating that they want to be stronger, perform better, or look more fit and I wouldn’t know that training is lower in their hierarchy of concerns. I try to weigh that in and respect it upfront this way. Same thing with changing goals. If you, @dagill2, announces tomorrow that you’ve decided that you want to become a really good disc golf player now and focus on that — power to you.
I suppose everyone is not even fortunate enough to have goals in life it would seem, and that being positioned in such a way that one can pursue bettering themselves is a luxury.
Yeah. He’s recently shifted his focus slightly from the young meatheads to the slightly less young guys. Also, from training and diet, to more lifestyle/mindset type stuff. To quote him in an interview a few years ago, “I can’t write about squats, deadlifts, pushups, salmon, and sweet potatoes forever.”
I agree 100% with this post, and it was exactly my intention to portray that that’s how I’d train me, the skinny climber trying to get them muscles for the ladies.
I was a big fan, back in the day. I occasionally pop back and read some of his stuff now.
What is a good program to use while I work on developing squat mobility. I currently can’t perform a proper squat but found some new mobility instructions online. I plan to try these exercises daily and see what happens after a month. But I can’t really squat yet and I’m limited to being at home with bench, Olympic weights. I have a barbell stand which can be used for squatting later but just used for benching now. Would barbell lunges suffice? I also have dip bars and pull-up bar. Some dumbbell lbs too of various sizes.
I’d suggest posting your current squat form in your training log and tagging a few people to check it out and give you pointers. At this point people would just be guessing as to what you need to work on. Get a few angles with you camera, too.
If you can’t squat whatsoever at this point, I’d still make a video of an attempt and try to explain where in the movement things start feeling bad/where you are failing. It’ll give people insight as to what you need to work on.