just wanting to run my schedule by all you pros out there so i’m actually on the right track.
i’m 191cm, 195lbs and previously skinny as (but up to 18% bf thanks to lax discipline). my main aim is to maximise muscle mass, strength and fitness some other time. at the moment eating about 300g of protein a day and 3500cals (as don’t want the body fat to get silly).
just started the starting strength program as detailed on the forums but am not sure if it is the best for hypertrophy. maybe EDH or ABBH? so many posts talk about the hallowed ‘newbie gains’ and i guess i just want to make the most of mine.
cheers
ahh thanks for that big phil, but i’m sure some programs are better than others. am only making strength gains currently, barely any size. maybe this is because currently its low reps high wieght (3x5) and everywhere seems to say high reps for size?
First off, how long have you been lifting? It will take a some time to make visible gains whether you’re a newbie or not.
Secondly, as a beginner, alot of your gains will be made due to inter-muscular coordination ,your muscles learn to contract smarter, but not necessarily hypertrophy(get bigger). This is the reason that many smaller powerlifters can lift more than many bodybuilders with more muscle mass.
thanks wbfalcon, haven’t been training properly for 6 months or so and before that it was erratic. thus i guess i can be classed in the complete beginner category. when you started out, how long did this intermuscular coordination take before you started seeing hypertrophy?
on another tangent, anyone know good programs if you are doing manual labour all week (12 hr days), cos i suspect its impeding my growth due to lack of recovery?
[quote]heyeverybody wrote:
ahh thanks for that big phil, but i’m sure some programs are better than others. am only making strength gains currently, barely any size. maybe this is because currently its low reps high wieght (3x5) and everywhere seems to say high reps for size?[/quote]
the answers to this can be found in your first post:
[quote]heyeverybody wrote:
195lbs
.
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3500cals (as don’t want the body fat to get silly).
.
.
so many posts talk about the hallowed ‘newbie gains’ and i guess i just want to make the most of mine.
cheers[/quote]
If you you want to pack on some size and maximize newbie gains you gotta eat! 3500 calories for an active individual of your size isnt a whole lot. You should aim to consistantly increase the numbers in the gym AND on the scale, that is how you maximize newbie gains. If you get overly worried about adding fat you will just sabatoge your goals to build muscle by under eating. Train hard (starting strength is a great place to start and you could easily transition into some of Waterbury’s programs when the time comes) and gain wieght at a slow but steady pace and you won’t get overly fat.