even with a 10 rep max your form can(will) deteriorate towards he end of the set. which is why i have my guys work up untill they start falling apart so i can see their weak points, then back the wieght off for their working sets and see if next week they can add 5 lbs. or to hat specific lift without losing any technique. and once again, im not saying the program you posted is bad, it actualy looks very solid for a beginner. the only disagreement i have with it is the heavy days during the first wave.
Needing help - First proper workout plan?
- Thread starter KSpencer
- Start date
denizen
New member
Form does not deteriorate if you follow the program and don't start with more than your 10 rep max. Its gonna get real hard eventually so starting out too heavy is pointless and will probably lead to failure.
The first week you only do 8 reps at your 10 rep max....real easy.
Second week 9 reps at your 10 rep max.
Third week 10 reps at 10 rep max etc. etc.
It's relatively easy by then. The first real challenge didn't come until my second cycle when the weights were increased by 10%. I had to push real hard to get the 11 and 12 rep weeks done. Into my 3rd cycle now and its a bear!
Anyways it's just a suggestion for the OP. I'm my no means an expert just forwarding my experiences from a workout program with 9,000 posts on BB...works for lots of newbies!
I will be yes, just need to find a half decent camera! Haha! I thought as much, cheers again mate! Will definitely keep this post up to date with whats happening.
It usually depends on what im doing. For instance Dead Lifts seem to be my forte, I can do them until the cows come home. Squats however hammer my legs, and they're usually sore for a day or two afterwards.
Yes this is my first serious workout regimen.
And thanks for the info! Ill be sure to check it out and read through the forum post(s) The more information I can grab the better!
Also, as far as supplements go. Im currently on just some standard Whey Protein + Creatine (Ancient Strength) I'm guessing for bulking i don't need to take much more than this?
(Note, im only 19 so i wont be touching any gear)
Cheers again for all the feedback!
bud, i've seen 800 and 900 lb. squaters start losing their form on dynamic days. those are days when you only work with 40-55% of your 1RM plus some kind of accomidating resistance for 8-12 sets of 2 reps. So your theory that a beginners form will not break down doing 9 reps of a 10 rep max is wrong. but then again you're on your 3rd cycle of this beginner program and i only have about 7 years of experience, 5 years on the platform, and a degree in exercise science, so i probably don't know what im talking about.
Can you even tell me why beginners can do full body workouts multiple times a week?? you're using a program with over 9000 posts so it should be real easy to answer. i'll give you a hint CNS. you're body is adapting.
Spencer- if you need a camera loook at the Flip camera. they aren't priced too bad, take good videos, you can plug it right into your computer, and they're pretty tough. i had one a year or two ago untill my flier (yes, im a cheerleader) thought it was cute and claimed it as her own lol
and i agree with Raven, gota work with your body. people who recover fast, like myself, can train muscle groups 2x a week. but if you notice that you recover slower, then training a muscle group only one time a week might be the way to go when you're done with youre current program. but we will talk about that when the time comes and you want to change up your program
and i agree with Raven, gota work with your body. people who recover fast, like myself, can train muscle groups 2x a week. but if you notice that you recover slower, then training a muscle group only one time a week might be the way to go when you're done with youre current program. but we will talk about that when the time comes and you want to change up your program
denizen
New member
Its not my theory. Its a workout program that has been a sticky on bb. com for 3 1/2 years. Here is the link. Let me know what you think.
forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843
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i dont care about your 9000 post link. over half of the posts are from newbies. when working with near maximum effort weights your form, especialy for beginners, IS going to have some kind of deterioration. it happens to lifters at every level from beginners all the way up to pro level. which is why i said towards the beginning of this thread that the OP should take the first few weeks to work on technique and not worry about weights.
i'm not going to argue with you anymore, you obviously believe that you already have everything figured out from your 9000 post thread and 3-4 month of lifting, so there's not point.
have fun and best of luck to you.
i'm not going to argue with you anymore, you obviously believe that you already have everything figured out from your 9000 post thread and 3-4 month of lifting, so there's not point.
have fun and best of luck to you.
denizen
New member
Yeah your right..nuff said. And bro I'm not arguing at all..thats is your imagination. I'm just sayin this works for me right now, and has been a great intro to lifting. But I guess the designer of this workout program has no clue or experience. You never really read the thing but have decided it doesn't work...nice.
i never said it didnt work. if you read my earlier posts i said it looks good but i would go about the first few weeks with a different weight scheme. get your shit right if you're gona try to call me out.
Spencer- sorry this guy and i are gettin into it on your thread. and i'm lookin forward to seeing your lifting videos and how you progress over the next few months.
Spencer- sorry this guy and i are gettin into it on your thread. and i'm lookin forward to seeing your lifting videos and how you progress over the next few months.
Ah cheers! Will definitely get myself one of those ordered ASAP! Hopefully get some pictures up and stuff too (Tried to measure my BF% but it came out as 6% not sure if thats right or not so a second opinion would help!)
Starting to notice some fairly good gains, not so much in size but definitely in form and strength. I go with a buddy of mine, so we try to keep a eye on each other and point out anything that we thinks wrong with what we're doing - Seems to work!
Ah don't worry about it! At least he seems to of walked away with some information too!
Cheers again for all the help! Stay posted for the videos and pictures!
Hey me again! Couple of quick questions!
First, I do a lot of sports. Would climbing/hiking/mountain biking be classed as cardio? And if not done during cardio days (ie on rest days or weight days) would it negatively impact my training? I could understand not doing say bouldering as that's a fairly intensive upper body work out, but what about hiking and Mountain Biking?
Secondly, I'm currently around 3 weeks through my routine, and noticing great results! (pictures incoming) So thinking ahead to the future, what would a 5 day split look like? And how often would I aim to be adding weight? Every couple of weeks, a month?
Cheers again for all the support! Can't thank you enough!
First, I do a lot of sports. Would climbing/hiking/mountain biking be classed as cardio? And if not done during cardio days (ie on rest days or weight days) would it negatively impact my training? I could understand not doing say bouldering as that's a fairly intensive upper body work out, but what about hiking and Mountain Biking?
Secondly, I'm currently around 3 weeks through my routine, and noticing great results! (pictures incoming) So thinking ahead to the future, what would a 5 day split look like? And how often would I aim to be adding weight? Every couple of weeks, a month?
Cheers again for all the support! Can't thank you enough!
I would say that could probably count as cardio. The only thing that you have to watch out for is going mountain biking after leg day or something like that which would be breaking down the muscle before it had a chance to heal. Therefore hindering gains.
So if those are things that you enjoy, then yes do them, but incorporate them on the right days.
and Ill tell you my (5 day) split
M:legs (heavy compound movements and quads)
T:back, biceps, and abs
W:chest and triceps
T:Shoulders and traps
F: Hamstrings and calves
Alot of people will tell you to do all of your leg work in one day, but my personal preference is to split up quads and hams as much as posible between two days. But everyone has their own preferences.
im in agreement with what foamy said in regards to cadio.
for your second question about a 5 day split, i've never been a fan of going 5 days. i prefer either doing a 4 day upper/lower split, or a 4 day split:
1-legs
2-chest and tris
3-off
4-back and bis
5- shoulders
That is just my personal prefernce though, i know a lot of people who use a 5 day split and love it.
And as far as adding weight, you can shoot for adding 5 lbs./week to the bigger lifts (squat, deadlift, bench), but eventualy you're going to get to a point where thats not possible anymore. Just gota feel things out and go with it. Sometimes i'll go in the gym and put up a PR easy, then the next week not even be close. So you just have to feel things out from week to week, but deffinitly push yourself to increase weight or reps every week.
for your second question about a 5 day split, i've never been a fan of going 5 days. i prefer either doing a 4 day upper/lower split, or a 4 day split:
1-legs
2-chest and tris
3-off
4-back and bis
5- shoulders
That is just my personal prefernce though, i know a lot of people who use a 5 day split and love it.
And as far as adding weight, you can shoot for adding 5 lbs./week to the bigger lifts (squat, deadlift, bench), but eventualy you're going to get to a point where thats not possible anymore. Just gota feel things out and go with it. Sometimes i'll go in the gym and put up a PR easy, then the next week not even be close. So you just have to feel things out from week to week, but deffinitly push yourself to increase weight or reps every week.
Sorry for the late reply, I've literally had no time this past week and a bit, rushed off my feet!
Cheers for the advice above! I've now managed to incorporate most of my activities into my workout, so i feel a bit less guilty about doing them!
Coming to the end of the "Starting Phase" if you'll call it I have definitely seen some good progress in terms of my physic, Iv lost a bit of the "Puppy Fat" i still retained and have noticed some pretty big gains in other places (My big may not see BIG to some people, but trust me, there was very little there to begin with!)
Anyway, figured I'd post up some stats just before I start moving into my proper routine so it will be easier to see and monitor my progress!
(Pictures Incoming)
Thigh = 21.5 in
Calf = 14.5 in
Fore-arm = 11 in
Bicep = 13 in
Hip = 33 in
Waist = 30.4 in
Weight = 11.6 stone (This has went up from around 10 - Really chuffed with this!)
Height = 6ft 3"
(Not sure if they are accurate, or even what "Water Retention" means, but my scales gave me a Body Fat measurement and Water Retention measurement, so they are below)
Body fat = 6.5%
Water Retention = 64. %
Now, onto the questions! What would you personally recommend in terms of splits? I know a lot of people say its up to the person but if I class myself as a medium-ish gainer what would you say? As iv heard some people say 5 day splits are only good for easy gainers (Again im totally new to this!)
Also, are there any MUST HAVE exercises? (Starting work on my new regime for next month)
I know that stuff like squats and dead lifts (Compound exercises etc) are nearly always included, but are there any others that i should know about?
Also, in terms of diets I've really started to bump up my calorie intake, I took a look at 3J's forum thread and worked out that i need to be consuming around 3300 a day if im Bulking. Was wondering if you have any tips for trying to get that all in in a day. I usually have quiet a good appetite on me, but even im struggling with the 7-8 meals a day!
PS: Sorry the photo's and videos are taking so long! My gym seems to be abit pissy when it comes to allowing people to take a video camera in (Even though im usually the only one there!) I do finally have a few clips im looking at using and now i just have to figure out Youtube! The photo's are currently being uploaded, so check back within afew hours and they should be up!
Sorry for that huge wall of text! Again, you guys are great, wouldn't even know where to begin to thank you! Cheers again for all the help!
EDIT: PICTURES! (Don't ask me why im looking up, I think there was something on the roof?) Tried to embed it here but doesnt seem to want to work, may be due to my post count? Cheers!
img291.imageshack.us/i/img0278jr.jpg/
Cheers for the advice above! I've now managed to incorporate most of my activities into my workout, so i feel a bit less guilty about doing them!
Coming to the end of the "Starting Phase" if you'll call it I have definitely seen some good progress in terms of my physic, Iv lost a bit of the "Puppy Fat" i still retained and have noticed some pretty big gains in other places (My big may not see BIG to some people, but trust me, there was very little there to begin with!)
Anyway, figured I'd post up some stats just before I start moving into my proper routine so it will be easier to see and monitor my progress!
(Pictures Incoming)
Thigh = 21.5 in
Calf = 14.5 in
Fore-arm = 11 in
Bicep = 13 in
Hip = 33 in
Waist = 30.4 in
Weight = 11.6 stone (This has went up from around 10 - Really chuffed with this!)
Height = 6ft 3"
(Not sure if they are accurate, or even what "Water Retention" means, but my scales gave me a Body Fat measurement and Water Retention measurement, so they are below)
Body fat = 6.5%
Water Retention = 64. %
Now, onto the questions! What would you personally recommend in terms of splits? I know a lot of people say its up to the person but if I class myself as a medium-ish gainer what would you say? As iv heard some people say 5 day splits are only good for easy gainers (Again im totally new to this!)
Also, are there any MUST HAVE exercises? (Starting work on my new regime for next month)
I know that stuff like squats and dead lifts (Compound exercises etc) are nearly always included, but are there any others that i should know about?
Also, in terms of diets I've really started to bump up my calorie intake, I took a look at 3J's forum thread and worked out that i need to be consuming around 3300 a day if im Bulking. Was wondering if you have any tips for trying to get that all in in a day. I usually have quiet a good appetite on me, but even im struggling with the 7-8 meals a day!
PS: Sorry the photo's and videos are taking so long! My gym seems to be abit pissy when it comes to allowing people to take a video camera in (Even though im usually the only one there!) I do finally have a few clips im looking at using and now i just have to figure out Youtube! The photo's are currently being uploaded, so check back within afew hours and they should be up!
Sorry for that huge wall of text! Again, you guys are great, wouldn't even know where to begin to thank you! Cheers again for all the help!
EDIT: PICTURES! (Don't ask me why im looking up, I think there was something on the roof?) Tried to embed it here but doesnt seem to want to work, may be due to my post count? Cheers!
img291.imageshack.us/i/img0278jr.jpg/
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Like walker said, everyone is different. I personally love the 5 day split. I've tried several different splits over the years and feel the most comfortable and feel I get the most out of the 5 day split.
Pick one and run with it. You'll eventually experiment with different splits and you'll find one you like.
As far as must do exercises. Squats and dead lifts should be in everyone's workout IMO. I mix up my routine every 6 weeks or so. I try to rotate exercises and sets/reps.
I'm currently doin 4x 20/12/10/8
In 2 weeks ill go to 4x6 or 5x5
Then 6 weeks later I'll go 3x10 etc etc.
I think I am starting to prefer the routine I'm on now but feel it's important to continually mix it up.
You'll eventually find what works best for you. It's a lot of trial and error. Everyone is different.
One last thing, it's highly unlikely you are 6% BF. That's very low, don't ever rely on scales for BF measurements. Use calipers, get dipped (if possible) or post up a picture and you'll get some good comments.
Thanks for the feedback! Ill probably be going with the 5-day split as solely focusing on one or two muscle groups per day would really make me feel like I've given them a good workout.
And ye, I thought that too. Personally i think im around 15% maybe a bit more. Hopefully once these pictures are up you guys will be able to help out.
Cheers again bud!
Up where?
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