Hi everyone, I’m 17, 140 lbs, and looking to increase muscle mass. I’ve read through the vroom’s beginner’s thread and some threads on the beginners forum, and many people say that virtually any of the complex BB routines listed in the T-Nation articles section will be sufficient for a beginner.
However, I then listened to the Double Tap radio session featuring Dan John that said beginners often dive into a complex routine without actually spending time developing a foundation that sets you up for those complex routines.
Is there a discrepancy between these two lines of thought or am I missing something here? I’m considering starting off with CW’s Anti-Bodybuilding Hypertrophy Program; would this be the best way for a beginner to develop a foundation and achieve maximum hypertrophy?
Secondly, I have a question about training partners. Are they always necessary for spotting purposes? A lot of the exercises in BB routines don’t require a spotter, but what about things like squats, or dumbbell chest presses? I ask because I used to go to the gym with my friend but his pass is running out soon and I’ll be hitting the gym alone.
Good for you for checking out some programs first, and reading vroom’s beginner post, and for looking into Dan John’s stuff. He is a very smart man. To throw some more kindling into your fire, read this excellent article by Eric Cressey:
Regarding spotters, I find that spotters are necessary when you could drop something and kill yourself. That includes DB chest presses. If you don’t have a regular spotter, start making friends in the gym, and when you need a spotter, ask somebody. Most guys and gals are happy to spot. You, of course, should provide a spot to another in return.
Shugart had a routine for beginners, but I don’t like it because it has you training each muscle group only once per week. I think SOME people may eventually do better on once a week training, I would recommend a routine that has you training total body 3X/week. CW’s triple total training looks good.
It has you training the whole body 1x for heavy weights, 1x for high reps and 1x for explosive reps. If you are more into bodybuilding, replace the explosive day with medium reps done strictly, and you can put some on the explosive exercises in the heavy day.
Navers, are you a complete beginner? Have you ever lifted? If not, I must say that I agree with Eric Cressey’s current Cool Tip. It’s up right now. I would recommend doing 3 full-body workouts per week. Lift in the 8-12 rep range. Lift to near failure. If you train to failure the first few workouts to learn how to push yourself and what it feels like, that’s fine. Failure is when you physically can’t do another repetition with decent form in proper range of motion.
After you learn what it feels like, you want to train to NEAR failure-1-2 reps short. Start out with two circuits. You might want to add a third circuit as time goes on. Do this for 6-8 weeks.
After this time, you should be good to jump into ABBH, TBT, or any of the other programs on Vroom’s thread.
In terms of spotters, it depends on the equipment at your gym. If you have a squat rack, power rack, etc… and you can get someone to show you how to set up the pins properly, you should be ok without one. If not, you really should try to find someone to spot you. Good luck!
Nothing to add to the previous posts, just wanted to say that Navers, I’m impressed. You will succeed where others have failed if only because you did some homework.
Actually, I will add something, take a serious look at Chad Waterbury’s Big Boy Basics.
[quote]jsbrook wrote:
I would recommend doing 3 full-body workouts per week. Lift in the 8-12 rep range. Lift to near failure. If you train to failure the first few workouts to learn how to push yourself and what it feels like, that’s fine.
[/quote]
Again, I agree with 3 total body workouts, but I would use at least slight variation in reps. Maybe 12-15 reps one day, 8-12 the second and 4-6 the third. I think it will help you to try to push one heavier day a week around a 5 rep max.
If your more into sports, I’d do 8 x 3 fast on the second day though.