Joined a gym today, looking for thoughts on a routine

[Pantlegz]

a n00b question about Stronglifts, just about all the info I've read on it's saying every workout you should add 5lbs to your previous one. I was looking at the gym and the smallest plates they have are 10's. Wouldn't a 20lb minimum jump every workout render this program pretty useless? I know I'm not going to be able to move up that much weight every time I work out. And it seems the gradual increase is the basis of it.

Initially it probably wont be too bad, but once you get to heavier weight it will make you plateau sooner. Most places should have at least 5lb weights and I've never been to a gym that doesn't have 2.5lb ones. If you don't have another option as far as the weight increase goes just bump the weight up every other week rather than weekly.

 

[QueBert]

Initially it probably wont be too bad, but once you get to heavier weight it will make you plateau sooner. Most places should have at least 5lb weights and I've never been to a gym that doesn't have 2.5lb ones. If you don't have another option as far as the weight increase goes just bump the weight up every other week rather than weekly.

My bad they actually do, the Gym just opened up and wasn't all the way set up I guess. I saw 2.5 & 5's stashed in the corner. Funny how I can do the tredmill/elliptical & bike type machines without thinking about it. But when I got into the weight area today and saw all the jacked up dudes I started to get real self conscious lol. I have no idea what I can lift right now and that sort of scares me, I actually chickened out and left. I gotta go back tonight and just man up and face hardly being able to bench sh*t.

2 more quick questions to anyone interested in answering, would it not be a good idea to do SL Mon/Wed/Fri & C25k Tue/Thur/Sat? I see people saying 3x a week for SL and 1 day for Cardio. If it's not a good idea to start with both, how long should I do SL before I jump into doing c25k too?

 

[badb0y]

supamerz great post, I found a 5x3 routine that's for total n00bs which would be me. And put an app called Jefit on my EVO, it'll allow me to track everything I do. Yeah it'll take time and be extra work but I think you saying to track everything's great idea. Guess I'll do the 5x3 until I'm ready to move up to 5x5.

This is what I found that like a good starting point

Here's a routine for beginners suggested by Mark Rippetoe, who specializes in getting beginners big and strong. A 30-40 lb increase in muscular bodyweight over a 6 month period is pretty standard with his athletes.

Workout A

3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B

3x5 Squat
3x5 Military Press
3x5 Power Clean

Warm up using several sets before doing the 3 work sets (or 1 for the deadlift). If you're using 175, for example, it would look like this:

Warm up sets

2x5xbar (sets x reps x weight)
1x5x85
1x3x125
1x2x155

Work sets

3x5x175

You alternate workout A and B, 3 non-consecutive days per week. So you might do:

Week 1

M

Workout A

W

Workout B

F

Workout A

Week 2

M

Workout B

W

Workout A

F

Workout B

Yea I think this is Rippetoe's workout plan, very good for beginners.

Remember that you won't see results overnight. Don't over train yourself and take everything slowly. Talk to people at the gym, I remember I started when I was 17~ and I learned a lot from the people who were working out at the gym.

 

[QueBert]

Ok I'm about 60% into the 5x5 report that stronglifts.com emailed me. I'm totally confused how many calories I need to eat. I see GOMD mentioned but I'm already 218lbs. I know your fat doesn't turn into muscle by working out. But if I want to lose fat & put on muscle what should I be looking at calorie wise? People are reporting putting on 25lbs in a month on GOMD. If I do that I would be even more overweight than I currently am. SL 5x5 doesn't seem like a very strenuous routine, yet the FAQ on there says I'd need to eat about 3600 calories a day to maintain my current size. With my age (36) and weight (218) is GOMD something I need to do? Googling it every link seems to say something different.

I'm hitting the gym tomorrow for my 1st day of SL, I can't wait until Monday

 

[Howard]

Just make sure you're eating enough protein. I believe if your BF% is high enough, calorie intake becomes less important for building muscle (which will help with healthy weight loss).

 

[QueBert]

Just make sure you're eating enough protein. I believe if your BF% is high enough, calorie intake becomes less important for building muscle (which will help with healthy weight loss).

Understood, My Protein intake's good, I do usually 2-2.5 shakes a day. The other day it was about 123g. I'm going to order some Syntha-6 odd Amazon too, read a lot of good things about it.

 

[QueBert]

Just make sure you're eating enough protein. I believe if your BF% is high enough, calorie intake becomes less important for building muscle (which will help with healthy weight loss).

Understood, My Protein intake's good, I do usually 2-2.5 shakes a day. The other day it was about 123g. I'm going to order some Syntha-6 from Amazon, read a lot of good things about it.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Understood, My Protein intake's good, I do usually 2-2.5 shakes a day. The other day it was about 123g. I'm going to order some Syntha-6 odd Amazon too, read a lot of good things about it.

I probably do 110 grams a day in protein shakes. That's on top of eggs, meats and other things that provide some more protein.

FWIW: I started at 226 lbs and a 38" waist. I am now down to 219 and a 35" waist. The whole trick is to limit carb intake (I strive for 20g or so a day) and boost protein intake (120g + a day). And damn it, it works.

I got some L arginine from GNC. I only used it once. I either got stronger or the stuff works. So far, I am basing things on placebo effect and/or confirmation bias. I took some just now 30 minutes before I do my run. Curious if I can go a little longer between breaks this time.

Building muscle takes energy and if you starve your body of crap like carbs, it gets that energy from fat.

 

[imported_Alx]

LOL is this a parody thread?

"
Summer is here, so I joined a gym, excited to go from weak and fat to lean and 200+ bench by the end of august!

I'm reading the SL report, using SS app, registered on bodybuilding.com in addition to asking questions here. I'll be treadmilling a lot to burn the fat too, oh and how soon can I jump into c25k?

I'm also working on my diet, 2-3 shakes a day and I'm already ordering supplements online!

Shucks, no smith machine to do my squats and bench but the free weights area looks so scary.
"


I mean, come on, way too obvious...

 

[spamsk8r]

The only thing the Smith machine is good for is rehab work, IMO. Avoid it and use barbells and dumbbells. Ditch the soy milk (bad news all around, especially for men) and the cereal. Eat lots of meat (it's summer, learn to grill), nuts, sweet potatoes, fruit, whatever veggies you can stomach (I like grilled zucchini a lot). I don't love veggies either, so I make a lot of soups and stews to incorporate more of them into my diet in an easy, tasty way.

If you're going to do Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 start with just the bar. Seriously. If you've never done real strength work before it's going to take some time for your body to adapt in terms of increasing strength, mobility, flexibility, and form. Google Squat RX and watch the youtube videos, and really make sure every rep is done with solid form. The first few weeks are really just building a foundation, so take it light, check your ego, and get dialed in. On a linear progression you'll get up to challenging weights soon enough, but if you haven't developed your form by that point you'll end up struggling, badly.

 

[QueBert]

LOL is this a parody thread?

"
Summer is here, so I joined a gym, excited to go from weak and fat to lean and 200+ bench by the end of august!

I'm reading the SL report, using SS app, registered on bodybuilding.com in addition to asking questions here. I'll be treadmilling a lot to burn the fat too, oh and how soon can I jump into c25k?

I'm also working on my diet, 2-3 shakes a day and I'm already ordering supplements online!

Shucks, no smith machine to do my squats and bench but the free weights area looks so scary.
"


I mean, come on, way too obvious...

Uhh no, not a parody *shrug* I started working out at home a few months ago, I dropped a bit over 20lbs, then decided to join a gym so I can step it up a level. But I'm not really prevy to what would be best for me. I'm doing SL and c25k a day apart, probably not the best idea but what do I know?

 

[spamsk8r]

Uhh no, not a parody *shrug* I started working out at home a few months ago, I dropped a bit over 20lbs, then decided to join a gym so I can step it up a level. But I'm not really prevy to what would be best for me. I'm doing SL and c25k a day apart, probably not the best idea but what do I know?

To be honest, if you're tying to do SL 5x5 alongside C25K I would suggest reducing the 5x5 to 3x5 (3 sets of 5 reps) to help recovery. And, to be honest, for most people who are new to weight lifting, 3x5 works just as well as 5x5 in terms of strength gains.

 

[QueBert]

To be honest, if you're tying to do SL 5x5 alongside C25K I would suggest reducing the 5x5 to 3x5 (3 sets of 5 reps) to help recovery. And, to be honest, for most people who are new to weight lifting, 3x5 works just as well as 5x5 in terms of strength gains.

Hummm the SL.com guy who wrote the book said 5x5 was better for n00bs because more reps means you'll probably develop better form faster. Regardless I think I'm going to stop c25k, my knees feel shot today. Squats REALLY did a number on me. I think by themselves I might be feeling some tightness. But squats + 30 minutes on the treadmill's too much. I can walk but I'm definitely sore, and not in a good "wow I worked out woop woop sore" walking's a bit hard. I'll do just 5x5 and if it gets too much too quick I'll cut back to 3x5.

And I read up on the Smith machine, even if they had one at the gym I wouldn't touch it, I'll use the power rack. You say cut out the soy milk? damn looks like I gotta Google it, I love it too. going to be sad if I gotta replace it with normal milk *yuck* oh well.

 

[spamsk8r]

Hummm the SL.com guy who wrote the book said 5x5 was better for n00bs because more reps means you'll probably develop better form faster. Regardless I think I'm going to stop c25k, my knees feel shot today. Squats REALLY did a number on me. I think by themselves I might be feeling some tightness. But squats + 30 minutes on the treadmill's too much. I can walk but I'm definitely sore, and not in a good "wow I worked out woop woop sore" walking's a bit hard. I'll do just 5x5 and if it gets too much too quick I'll cut back to 3x5.

And I read up on the Smith machine, even if they had one at the gym I wouldn't touch it, I'll use the power rack. You say cut out the soy milk? damn looks like I gotta Google it, I love it too. going to be sad if I gotta replace it with normal milk *yuck* oh well.

I would avoid most dairy completely, to be honest, unless you decide to gain weight. The soreness you're feeling is going to be bad for the first few weeks, so don't overdo it. Eventually your body adapts and it becomes much, much less. Heck, I just squatted 275 for sets of 5 yesterday, followed by a tough Crossfit workout, and my legs aren't sore at all. But I've been consistently squatting every week for a while now.

 

[supamerz]

It seems like you're way too all over the place and you're confused on what to do and when to do it. Stop. You're over analyzing some things here that shouldn't even be considered at this stage.

Now that you have a program in mind that you will use, stick to it, test it out and record your gains/losses. No one can tell you otherwise unless you give 100%, and I do mean you actually give it your best. You half ass it, you get half assed results. There's plenty of cats out there squatting "heavy" weight a quarter of the way down, if their lucky.

My advice to you is, food will be your full time job, gym is where you get to build the monster you want.

Food wise, at 220lbs for example, my goal would be to consume 275 to 300 grams of protein, call me crazy but this is minimal for gratifying results. Consume no more than 2 shakes a day, food is there for a reason. You're giving your body something it has to break down over time, burn calories and consume it. Here's my idea for you to lose weight when it comes to a "diet":
Meal 1 - 8-10 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal
Meal 2 - 2 Scoops of Protein - ~ 50 g protein + 1/2 cup oatmeal
Meal 3 - 8-10oz of Chicken/Steak/Tuna, 1 Sweet Potato, 1-2 Cups of Veggies or Large Salad
Meal 4 - 2 Scoops of Protein - ~ 50 g protein + 1/2 cup oatmeal
Meal 5 - 8-10oz of Chicken/Steak/Tuna, 1 Sweet Potato, 1-2 Cups of Veggies or Large Salad
--Notice a pattern yet?
Meal 6 - 8 egg whites, large salad

Approx Times:
Meal 1 - 8:00 AM
Meal 2 - 10:30 AM
Meal 3 - 1:00 PM
Meal 4 - 3:30 PM
Meal 5 - 6:00 PM
Meal 6 - 8:30 PM

-- I add more food by gauging how my body reacts. For example, I measure my bodyweight once a week and track my daily food intake. By the end of the 7th day, I weigh in and I record my weight loss/gain. If I'm losing MORE than 2.0LBS a week, (initially this is normal to lose from 4-12lbs within 2 weeks)...I add a little bit more....basically I'm the test dummy and I feed myself based on what my body tells me.

I started with that diet and played around with it, guess what it works.

Also keep in mind, after a few weeks your body will get used to (aka adapt) to whatever you put in. So the removal of extra carbs or exchange of carbs (- 1/2 cup oatmeal) will continue your progressive weight loss.

Eating alone will contribute to 80% of your weight loss success....not a typo. (80%)

Calories are calories whether you don't eat them (3 minutes of eating) or burn them off in the gym (45 minutes of running).

To get strong follow that program, log your workouts ( i know, more shit to log) but this way you know what you did last week and there's no way you can not try to beat your goals. You got 100lbs for 10 reps last week, try to get 11, shit, go for 15 if you got the kohones

If you apply yourself, you will get there. No shortcuts...believe me.

 

[Pantlegz]

It seems like you're way too all over the place and you're confused on what to do and when to do it. Stop. You're over analyzing some things here that shouldn't even be considered at this stage.

Now that you have a program in mind that you will use, stick to it, test it out and record your gains/losses. No one can tell you otherwise unless you give 100%, and I do mean you actually give it your best. You half ass it, you get half assed results. There's plenty of cats out there squatting "heavy" weight a quarter of the way down, if their lucky.

My advice to you is, food will be your full time job, gym is where you get to build the monster you want.

Food wise, at 220lbs for example, my goal would be to consume 275 to 300 grams of protein, call me crazy but this is minimal for gratifying results. Consume no more than 2 shakes a day, food is there for a reason. You're giving your body something it has to break down over time, burn calories and consume it. Here's my idea for you to lose weight when it comes to a "diet":
Meal 1 - 8-10 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal
Meal 2 - 2 Scoops of Protein - ~ 50 g protein + 1/2 cup oatmeal
Meal 3 - 8-10oz of Chicken/Steak/Tuna, 1 Sweet Potato, 1-2 Cups of Veggies or Large Salad
Meal 4 - 2 Scoops of Protein - ~ 50 g protein + 1/2 cup oatmeal
Meal 5 - 8-10oz of Chicken/Steak/Tuna, 1 Sweet Potato, 1-2 Cups of Veggies or Large Salad
--Notice a pattern yet?
Meal 6 - 8 egg whites, large salad

Approx Times:
Meal 1 - 8:00 AM
Meal 2 - 10:30 AM
Meal 3 - 1:00 PM
Meal 4 - 3:30 PM
Meal 5 - 6:00 PM
Meal 6 - 8:30 PM

-- I add more food by gauging how my body reacts. For example, I measure my bodyweight once a week and track my daily food intake. By the end of the 7th day, I weigh in and I record my weight loss/gain. If I'm losing MORE than 2.0LBS a week, (initially this is normal to lose from 4-12lbs within 2 weeks)...I add a little bit more....basically I'm the test dummy and I feed myself based on what my body tells me.

I started with that diet and played around with it, guess what it works.

Also keep in mind, after a few weeks your body will get used to (aka adapt) to whatever you put in. So the removal of extra carbs or exchange of carbs (- 1/2 cup oatmeal) will continue your progressive weight loss.

Eating alone will contribute to 80% of your weight loss success....not a typo. (80%)

Calories are calories whether you don't eat them (3 minutes of eating) or burn them off in the gym (45 minutes of running).

To get strong follow that program, log your workouts ( i know, more shit to log) but this way you know what you did last week and there's no way you can not try to beat your goals. You got 100lbs for 10 reps last week, try to get 11, shit, go for 15 if you got the kohones

If you apply yourself, you will get there. No shortcuts...believe me.

Check out leangains.com and some of the studies he has used, eating that many meals is pointless. metabolism doesn't fall off until ~24 hours after you've eaten and it's not like excess calories are instantly turned into fat they've got to be processed. You can lose weight eating 3 solid meals a day.

I'm a fan of keotgenic diets, but they're not for everyone.

 

[Wyndru]

It seems like you're way too all over the place and you're confused on what to do and when to do it. Stop. You're over analyzing some things here that shouldn't even be considered at this stage.

Now that you have a program in mind that you will use, stick to it, test it out and record your gains/losses. No one can tell you otherwise unless you give 100%, and I do mean you actually give it your best. You half ass it, you get half assed results. There's plenty of cats out there squatting "heavy" weight a quarter of the way down, if their lucky.

My advice to you is, food will be your full time job, gym is where you get to build the monster you want.

Food wise, at 220lbs for example, my goal would be to consume 275 to 300 grams of protein, call me crazy but this is minimal for gratifying results. Consume no more than 2 shakes a day, food is there for a reason. You're giving your body something it has to break down over time, burn calories and consume it. Here's my idea for you to lose weight when it comes to a "diet":
Meal 1 - 8-10 egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal
Meal 2 - 2 Scoops of Protein - ~ 50 g protein + 1/2 cup oatmeal
Meal 3 - 8-10oz of Chicken/Steak/Tuna, 1 Sweet Potato, 1-2 Cups of Veggies or Large Salad
Meal 4 - 2 Scoops of Protein - ~ 50 g protein + 1/2 cup oatmeal
Meal 5 - 8-10oz of Chicken/Steak/Tuna, 1 Sweet Potato, 1-2 Cups of Veggies or Large Salad
--Notice a pattern yet?
Meal 6 - 8 egg whites, large salad

Approx Times:
Meal 1 - 8:00 AM
Meal 2 - 10:30 AM
Meal 3 - 1:00 PM
Meal 4 - 3:30 PM
Meal 5 - 6:00 PM
Meal 6 - 8:30 PM

-- I add more food by gauging how my body reacts. For example, I measure my bodyweight once a week and track my daily food intake. By the end of the 7th day, I weigh in and I record my weight loss/gain. If I'm losing MORE than 2.0LBS a week, (initially this is normal to lose from 4-12lbs within 2 weeks)...I add a little bit more....basically I'm the test dummy and I feed myself based on what my body tells me.

I started with that diet and played around with it, guess what it works.

Also keep in mind, after a few weeks your body will get used to (aka adapt) to whatever you put in. So the removal of extra carbs or exchange of carbs (- 1/2 cup oatmeal) will continue your progressive weight loss.

Eating alone will contribute to 80% of your weight loss success....not a typo. (80%)

Calories are calories whether you don't eat them (3 minutes of eating) or burn them off in the gym (45 minutes of running).

To get strong follow that program, log your workouts ( i know, more shit to log) but this way you know what you did last week and there's no way you can not try to beat your goals. You got 100lbs for 10 reps last week, try to get 11, shit, go for 15 if you got the kohones

If you apply yourself, you will get there. No shortcuts...believe me.

That's a lot of protein, is that healthy for your kidneys?

I started SL 5x5 a few months ago, but I didn't do the diet or any protein shakes. I figured I would just eat the way I normally do and the exercise would do it's thing. I've lost only about 15lbs, but I look a lot more fit now. I got up to only 120lbs for overhead presses (keeping good form) and that was the highest comfortable weight I have lifted with.

Lately I've knocked it down to 100lbs for lifts. I do this at home, don't have a rack and just clean the weights. If I'm doing warmup reps and working up to 120+, I find I get tired quickly, probably because of my shitty diet and being tired from work. I've been alternating cardio to help lose weight. I'm thinking about going to 3X5 just to add a little weight.

I'm not looking to get huge, I just want to maintain some tone, and this has worked for me so far. I also don't want to get to the point where I'm hesitant to lift because I have a hard time getting the weight up, so I'm ok with dropping it down once in a while and building back up. I'd rather do this than get frustrated and quit, which I've done in the past with other routines.

Even though this routine was clearly not meant for this, I still enjoy lifting, and am really getting what I originally wanted out of it. I just need to work on my diet now, my cholesterol is really bad.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Uhh no, not a parody *shrug* I started working out at home a few months ago, I dropped a bit over 20lbs, then decided to join a gym so I can step it up a level. But I'm not really prevy to what would be best for me. I'm doing SL and c25k a day apart, probably not the best idea but what do I know?

Rest is important. You need to take a day off atleast once a week where you don't do anything other than maintain your diet.

I find it hard to not overwork me legs with running and weights. I want to do lower body and runnign on the same day ut it is hard to do with my scedual.

I like the idea of a 5 day cycle:
1) run/lower body
2) upper body
3) run/lower body
4) upper body
5) rest

The problem is that lower body exercises like deadlift typcially require use of shoulder and trap muscles. You are almost doing shoulder shrugs when deadlifting. Heck, you are doing a should shrug.

So, it's hard to say. But atleast on such a routine, you give your legs every other day off.

And you would be amazed at what taking 3 or 4 days off on bench press can do. I just jumnped from 170 to about 180 pounds for a workout weight.

And don't worry about the big guys at the gym. They were in your shoes once. Don't ask to much of them but realize that they are human just like you and probably have jobs ranging from landscaper to busienss men.