Greetings Robots!
I finished the guide I was writing for you last night. Here it is. I hope it will help you.
There will be improvements made to it in the future, based on your questions and requests.
It covers pretty much 90% of the things you have asked me in the past.
I won't stay too long tonight; I work tomorrow.
Normally, I'm here for your questions and such, but tonight I will simply dump a lot of useful info and answer some questions while I'm around. So it will be a bit quicker than usual.
Those of you who started working out, who signed up for a gym, who started to count their calories, let me know how it's going!
We're gonna make it.
This is the dumbbells program I usually recommend:
Military Presses
https://youtu.be/HMvzUDwaBeA
Shoulder Presses DB
https://youtu.be/B-aVuyhvLHU
French Presses
https://youtu.be/RQMQR9r99lg
Rows
https://youtu.be/-koP10y1qZI
Squats
https://youtu.be/UXJrBgI2RxA
Pushups (wall, table)
https://youtu.be/a6YHbXD2XlU
------------------------------------------
Program:
5x5 military presses (5 sets of 5 repetitions)
5x5 shoulder presses
5x5 French presses
5x5 rows
5x5 squats
5x5 pushups
Do this every other day if you can. Taking more rest days is not a problem. Just avoid working out two days in a row.
thanks for not giving up on us senpai
And this is the barbell exercises you will need to know if you start SS or SL, or any program based on those.
>>25464204
Forgot to copypasta:
Work Out Tutorials
https://youtu.be/F3QY5vMz_6I?list=PLcQezwqoDs7ECX54FS0Lnkcn47AL5a5-L
https://youtu.be/-4qRntuXBSc?list=PLcQezwqoDs7ECX54FS0Lnkcn47AL5a5-L
https://youtu.be/Dy28eq2PjcM?list=PLcQezwqoDs7ECX54FS0Lnkcn47AL5a5-L
https://youtu.be/rT7DgCr-3pg?list=PLcQezwqoDs7ECX54FS0Lnkcn47AL5a5-L
https://youtu.be/7HRqB30lxmo?list=PLcQezwqoDs7ECX54FS0Lnkcn47AL5a5-L
https://youtu.be/423Ew_DQC40
>>25464195
With you until you make it. (And beyond.)
This pic is for starting running.
Template for a chart you can put on your fridge:
>morning weight on top
>calories come next, add every time, so that each number you write is your current total
>write daily total between the horizontal bars
The most important fact about weightloss and weightgain in this picture.
Understanding this alone will get your far.
>>25464293
To understand what a calorie is.
>>25464164
Went to the gym to ask some questions today. (partly so i'd be less nervous when i actually sign up)
Going to properly sign up and have a sort of "intake" tomorrow. I'm planning on following Starting Strength desu. (mainly because its easy to follow, i like having good guidance)
Just want to say thanks a lot for all your help and motivation!
Any advice or tips?
Great guide by the way, good job!
An example of why compound movements (that is, which require more than one joint activation) are better than isolation ones: they work so many more muscles, together. Working together is important because that's what happens in life, you rarely use a single muscle to do anything practical.
The only place where you'll do something similar to a machine exercise is precisely when you use a machine for exercising. Whereas lifting heavy shit is always precisely like lifting heavy shit.
>>25464321
>Went to the gym to ask some questions today
I'm proud of you, anon.
>I'm planning on following Starting Strength desu. (mainly because its easy to follow, i like having good guidance)
Excellent choice. Be sure to start with empty bar and work on your form first and foremost.
>Just want to say thanks a lot for all your help and motivation!
Very welcome.
>Any advice or tips?
Start light, focus on form. And by light I really mean empty bar, just to get the form down.
I hope you'll enjoy it. Major improvements are coming your way!
>Great guide by the way, good job!
Thank you!
The Strong Lift program. Whether you choose this one or SS doesn't matter too much. I'd even mix both every now and then. It's never about the details, it's always about the long run.
Here's the chart for bodyweight exercises that I mention in the guide.
Bodyweight isn't as efficient as free weights, but if you need some exercises that don't involve weights, this is a good list.
The exercises become harder as you go down. Each column is a different group of muscles/exercise.
>>25464232
I just learned a great tip for starting distance running. You should maintain a pace that still allows you to hold a conversation.
I used to try super hard when running and I would get incredibly tired after a mile and would eventually burn out. When I started running again recently I ran at this place and was able to easily run 4 miles with a short walking break halfway (I ran 2 miles, walked 1/4 mile, then ran 2 miles back). My time spent running wasn't much slower than when I tried going fast and I was able to run much farther.
Posting some older stuff.
>>25464404
Maybe some stupid questions;
How do I know how much weight to use?
How long do I wait inbetween sets?
How do i get weights on benchpress without shit falling off?
Whats the etiquette at say the squat rack or the benchpress? (gym is pretty small)
>>25464547
>I just learned a great tip for starting distance running. You should maintain a pace that still allows you to hold a conversation.
Yep, that's why people always talk while jogging in movies.
I can't run because of "bad knees", but I'm working on them. Short hamstrings force my caps into other bones, so I do stretching and hopefully, in a few months, perhaps I will be able to run. First time in my life that I'd be able to run without pain. Can't wait.
>>25464574
Almost all are answered in the guide. I'll copypasta.
----
How to Lift
What, exactly, does one do when lifting? Let's assume you've chosen dumbbells. What now? You should get a program (like mine) and follow it. The dumbbell program I give includes exercises that don't require dumbbells (like the squat and pushups) and aims at giving full body strength.
Now, how heavy should you lift? Before I answer that, we must go over the notions of "reps" and "sets". A rep is a repetition of a movement, a set is a series of reps. Consider the following:
3x5 squats
That means you are going to squat 5 times in a row and then stop. That was one set (of 5 reps). A pause is necessary for your muscles to compose themselves again so you can redo the same series without having lost strength; if you tried to do another set immediately, you'd not be able to. If you were able to, you'd be lifting far too light, as I'll explain in a moment.
In any program, you do all the sets for a given exercise. Don't do "circuits" where you change the exercise after one set. I've personally done this for months and all it does is get you exhausted, waste your time, and while it gives some results, it's not as efficient as doing your sets fully for one exercise before moving on to the next; it's also less satisfying as you never feel like you've finished anything. Doing a circuit program with too many exercises had me working out for nearly two hours, sweating a lot, feeling like I was doing what was right, and ending up in not gaining much strength.
How heavy should you lift? This depends on the reps you do, so let's, first, talk about rep ranges.
The usual model goes like this:
1 to 3 reps: pure strength
4 to 8 reps: strength and hypertrophy
9 to 20 reps: resistance
cont
>>25464574
cont
-----
What does that all mean? 1 to 3 reps being "pure strength" means that you'll get stronger without getting bigger. I've always wondered how that was possible if strength required more muscles. The answer is, so far as I can tell, that your existing muscles can learn to be more efficient as they are, central nervous system and all, and thus you get to lift heavier without having more muscles. This low rep range is not used often for all I know, and if you did, you'd eventually stall because this range doesn't grow muscles, or less.
4 to 8 is generally the recommended range, 5 being the most classic. This is the most efficient range to grow strength.
9 to 20: past 12, you're really doing cardio more than anything. Think of it this way: running is basically 1 set of 5000 steps: you don't get stronger legs with that, but you will get better at running. Marathon runners don't have enormous, powerful legs. That said, if you're a beginner, you may want to go up to 20 eventually, just to ensure that you have both strength and resistance. Certain exercises require 20 reps, typically bodyweight stuff, which I would advise to start at 5 and then gradually go up. Once you can do 20 easily, do a more difficult version of the same exercise, as in the chart I provide for bodyweight.
cont
>>25464574
final part:
---
So, how heavy should you lift? Basically, only a little more than the reps you're doing. In other words, if you go for 5 reps, you should be able to do 7 reps with that weight (roughly). It is advised to always have "one left in the bag" when you finish. Doing reps until you literally cannot lift any more is known as "going to failure" and there are various opinions about it. I advise not to go to failure, as that is very taxing on your muscles and will require more rest time. People like to do that because they equate pain with results and not being pansies, but in reality, I'm not convinced it's better than simply not going to failure and being able to do more sets and more repetitions. Muscles require stimulation to grow, they don't need to be tortured.
That's how you know how heavy to lift. The weight will vary depending on the exercise; with DB, you can do rows more easily than you can do shoulder presses, for instance. A French press will have you use both arms for one DB, so you'll typically be able to lift more than otherwise.
Do not try to lift too heavy, especially in the beginning. Even if your DB is only 3 kilos, if you can't do 7 reps of that, then that's that. Form is essential to your training, and form is basically how you perform your reps. It must be as perfect as possible. As soon as you see that you're failing form (that you start shaking or moving as if suddenly struck by mental retardation), you stop. You stop your set, that is, and rest 2 minutes or so, and try again. If you keep being unable to do the reps you must do, then you're lifting too heavy.
How to progress? You add weight. Lifting more is what makes you progress. As your muscles grow, you'll be able to lift more and more. Before adding weight, what you can do is increase the reps; instead of doing 5, go for 6, 7, or even 8. If you can comfortably do 8 reps, it's time to increase the weight (in a 5x5 program, that is).
That's the bulk of it.
>>25464574
>How do I know how much weight to use?
Shorter answers now: if you go for 5 reps, you use weight where you could do around 8 reps but no more.
>How long do I wait inbetween sets?
2 minutes is retarded as the best time, but basically, enough time for your muscles to regain strength so you can repeat the set. I don't always do 2 minutes.
>How do i get weights on benchpress without shit falling off?
You put them on before you lift, it won't fall off.
>>25464574
>Whats the etiquette at say the squat rack or the benchpress? (gym is pretty small)
May depend on your country. Don't waste your time or anyone else's, if you go to the loo, just put a bottle or towel to show you're still there. Don't use the pullup stuff in a rack if there are pullups available somewhere else. Common sense will be enough.
More OC for you people.
>>25464726
A variation of that one.
>>25464690
>>25464623
>>25464614
>>25464596
Thanks a million! Doing gods work!
This image sums up SS and the results you can expect from it.
>>25464761
Glad you appreciate it.
SS progression to get a better understanding of it.
Daisy Ridley can deadlift 80 kilos, just saying.
Also, a cute, a cute!
Evidence that free weights are more efficient.
I haven't read everything in this image, so I can't tell you if everything is good, but what I read was good enough.
Measure yourself on day 1 and try again 2 months later or so.
And don't try to work a specific area of your body only. That's silly and won't look good. It may even become a health problem for you if you develop muscular imbalances.
Some inspiration. Never give up, and you'll get there.
Once I get a body worth mirin' how would I go about maintaining it (pref without paying gym membership)?
Also how fast would muscles decay if I just completely stopped?
All right, guys and gals, time for me to take my leave for today.
Keep this thread up for as long as you can, it has most of the info I have to give.
Spread the stuff, you may save lives, literally. And I don't mean just physically. Doing this stuff can save your soul, I'm not exaggerating.
Take your lives back. Be the master of your own body, and your own life will follow.
See you around!
I'll keep peeking at the thread from my phone, in bed, but I won't respond. I'm always watching you, anon, so be a good padawan.
All my love.
>>25465042
Beyond 2 weeks. You can easy maintenance stuff to maintain them. Basically lift the same and don't increase weight. Or do bodyweights, that'd work too for maintenance.
If you stopped fully, you'd get it all back very shortly because of muscle memory, so don't worry.
Night!
Bumping for the massive amounts of effort gone into this
>>25465481
Bump as well. Same reason.
>>25465481
>>25465802
same reason, gonna/wanna have a read.
Damn Nick, how much energy you got? I would've given up after writing half a paragraph.
>>25464164
Thanks Nick for the help you're pretty based
Buuuuump dont die
What should I do to have the best physique for early summer/late spring?
>>25468669
and here is where I'm coming from in September
>>25468669
core, traps and arms
you'll be good
>>25468669
>>25468700
Lastly I have access to a full featured gym(it's not missing anything, and even has a pool).
My current lifts are:
DL - 275x5
Squat - 255x5
BP - 165x5
OHP - 125x5
I can't remember what my starting numbers were. Biggest change I notice from my pictures is my lats
Here's some motivation for you all.
>>25468792
you should be doing more sets
I personally do 4x8
my friend does 12-10-8-6-4
if you just want to look good dont worry about maxing. power lifting is neat to do once a week max, but overall the more sets you do, the faster you build that muscle.
use free weights whenever possible. replace barbells with dumbbells where you feel comfortable.
>>25468913
You mean reps. Friendo.
>>25468933
unless he does 275 sets of 5lb deadlifts, no, i meant sets.
whether it's 5x5 or 4x8 or pyramid scheme. maybe he meant he does 5x5 but a lot of people fall into powerlifting and never get the aesthetics they're after.
>>25468992
I did fall for the powerlifting meme. I wanted to build a good amount of muscle. 1 year ago I was 220lbs then by the summer I dropped to 160lbs. I did basically all cardio and had little muscle. Since September when I started lifting I've gone up to 172lbs as of today
if i'm a skinnyfat and i just want to look toned/low bf, should i hit the gym or lose weight?
>>25469328
both
read the guide
>le 3x5 squats meme
God, I've fall for this shit in 2007 when it was big on /fit/. Don't do the same mistake.
