Beginner starts new life

[pegasus]

Since this is my first post let me first begin by saying hello to one and all.

I found this site awhile ago after having spent many months researching nutrition and exercise.

My desire to get in shape stems from a need not only to better my health but my self confidence as well.

To put it bluntly I have very low self confidence. Inspite of having friends and girls who tell me I am good looking I see myself as nothing more than this fat, ugly, loser. This has caused my a lot of heartache in my life and I really want to change that.

That is why I have decided to get in shape. I feel that by changing the outside, the inside might just follow. The old saying that success breads confidence.

I have very little prior exercise experience. My past experience consisting of nothing more than a split of abs, arms, and chest during my junior and senior year of high school. Dumb I know.

I have spent the last few months reading as much as I can on exercise and nutrition and I think I have a pretty sound plan.

As I am at 20% body fat right now I am cutting. My program will consist of a sound diet, cardio, and weight lifting plan.

For my diet I will be taking my body weight times 10 and following as close to a 40/40/20 split as possible spread over five to six meals. If nothing else though I will atleast practice portion control.

For cardio I will switch off between moderate intensity cardio and hiit cardio. Some weeks I will do three-four days of moderate intensity cardio for 45 minutes , others 20 minutes of hiit on my non lifting days. Switching it up like this keeps me interested. All cardio is performed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. It will also done on my non weight training days or if doing four days of moderate intensity cardio, atleast eight hour before weights

For my weight lifting I will be following the upper body/ lower body split outlined in body for life. I feel as a beginner this is best for me.

So tommorrow will officially begin my new life. I hope to receive a lot of encouragement and advice as I embark on this journey. I'm even think of starting a journal on here so we can all monitor my progress and make sure I am staying on task.

Anyhow it is nice to meet you all and I look forward to my time here

 

[smike319]

Good luck on your journey pegasus, and welcome to the board.
I't won't be an easy path but if you stick with it and remain determined you will make it.
I wish you the best and look forward to seeing your progess on the boards.

 

[2gcorey]

pegasus i HIGHLY advise you to read all the articles on www.ironaddicts.com he's still working on the new site I see so keep checking back and he'll get them all on there. even as a beginer i would do one of this basic routines until you feel you're ready to go farther, then soak up all the knowledge you can or contact him for more detailed s tuff. i'm still doing a basic plan of his and people in the gym are amazed at my gains. and its EASY! well not while lifting, but its easy to do/follow as its so basic

 

[whale]

Good luck to you. making a lifestyle change is difficult but rewarding. So good luck and keep posting and reading it will help you a lot

whale

 

[NPursuit]

Good luck Pegasus. I guarantee you will soon become addicted to your new lifestyle and will find yourself happier then you ever have been. I look forward to hearing your progress.

 

[2gcorey]

pegasus the hardest thing for me was starting. go 100% on diet and all of it. once you see results you'll be hooked, but if you don't see them fast most people quit. Once my results started you're addicted and i'm srue most on here will agree. get results fast to ensure the chances you stick with it

 

[good_guye28]

good luck bro, soon youll be checking this board 5 times a day like me....lol ... honestly you have came to the right place for good people to help you in your lifting goals. the knowledge on this board is unreal. much better than any of those dam magazines you can buy and read of unreal stories.....

 

[pegasus]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. Unfortunately while today was suppose to be the start of my new life, I woke up at 5 this morning sicker than a dog. I've heard that you are not suppose to workout if you are sick so I didn't. I would be lying though if I said I wasn't a tad disapointed in myself. I guess I'll just continue to drink some water and down some soup and hopefully feel better tommorow. I'm praying that this is just one of those 24 hour bugs *crosses fingers*.


One thing I do want to know though is how do you think my current split is that I posted? Should I keep it or switch to either a full body split or one where everything gets worked once a week?

 

[Bean]

I think everything getting worked once a week would be better

or even try IA's 9-day split just starting out
basically you'd be focusing on the compound exercises; which is smart for beginners; and its at a lower pace of 9-days so you can judge how fast your body can recuperate from the exercise

you seem to have researched things quite a bit; i'm very impressed with you as a beginner; no one seems to come in here and make a first post like this with nearly 100% of everything researched; ESPECIALLY a beginner...

i'd advise reading up on ironaddicts.com and study exercise from his perspective...
doing big compounds also helps to burn more fat since more of your body plays a part; basically more strenuous

 

[pegasus]

Well here are two examples of what I would do for a three day split working every muscle just once. Note however that as of right now I workout at home. There is a very fine gym at the college but as of now it is down as the school is in the middle of renovations.

I have at my disposal(sp?) a bench, one bb, two db's, and a leg attachment. I will post a sample routine below. I will need your guy's and gal's help though on how many sets and reps I should be doing for each lift.

Day 1: Legs and Shoulders
*DB Squat
*Stiff Leg Deadlift
*DB Lunge
*Single Leg Calf Raise
*Overhead Press
*Side Lateral Raise

Day 2:Chest and Biceps
*Flat Bench Press
*Incline Bench Press
*Fly
*Straight Bar Curl
*Hammer Curl

Day 3:Back and Triceps
*Deadlift
*Bent Row
*One Arm Row
*Shrug
*Close Grip Bench Press
*Lying Triceps Extension

Or

Day 1:Back/Biceps
*Deadlift
*Bent Row
*One Arm Row
*Pull Over
*Shrug
*Straight Bar Curl
*Alternating DB Curl
*Alternating Hammer Curl

Day 2: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
*Flat Bench Press
*Incline Bench Press
*Fly
*Overhead Press
*Side Lateral Raise
*Close Grip Bench Press
*Lying Triceps Extension

Day 3: Legs and Abs
*DB Squat
*Stiff Leg Deadlift
*DB Lunge
*Single Leg Calf Raise
*Weighted Crunch
*Weighted Reverse Crunch

Any opinions welcomed.

 

[Bean]

i think the 2nd routine would be better
IA normally advocates a push/pull exercise layout; day 1 is working your pulling muscles; day 2 is working your pushing muscles... day 3 is everything else

 

[tatortodd]

Day 1:Back/Biceps
*Deadlift
*Bent Row
*One Arm Row
*Pull Over
*Shrug
*Straight Bar Curl
*Alternating DB Curl
*Alternating Hammer Curl

Day 2: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
*Flat Bench Press
*Incline Bench Press
*Fly
*Overhead Press
*Side Lateral Raise
*Close Grip Bench Press
*Lying Triceps Extension

Day 3: Legs and Abs
*DB Squat
*Stiff Leg Deadlift
*DB Lunge
*Single Leg Calf Raise
*Weighted Crunch
*Weighted Reverse Crunch

Any opinions welcomed.

It'd be too much volume for me, but I like this one better with 3 modifications.

1. Put your leg day in between your push and pull day, and that will give the shoulders more time to recover. Your rotator cuffs will thank you.
2. Any particular reason for dumbell squat instead of barbell squat? I'd encourage the traditional barbell squat.
3. Keep an eye on your gym and decide which day is less crowded for your push and pull days (not usually worries on legs because few do them). You'll probably notice the benchpress/curl guys that show up on Mondays, and work the only 2 muscles they ever work besides their jaw muscles. Some of those tools do "the big 2" on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so you might want to consider a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday routine. Again, it depends on your gym.

Good Luck!

~Todd

 

[pegasus]

It'd be too much volume for me, but I like this one better with 3 modifications.

How so? I didn't post the sets and reps yet.

1. Put your leg day in between your push and pull day, and that will give the shoulders more time to recover. Your rotator cuffs will thank you.

I had it the way before because I would think my legs would suffer by squating and deadlifting so close together. But I am the newbie and will make the change

2.Any particular reason for dumbell squat instead of barbell squat? I'd encourage the traditional barbell squat.

As stated I workout at home. The front squat though is an option
3.Keep an eye on your gym and decide which day is less crowded for your push and pull days (not usually worries on legs because few do them). You'll probably notice the benchpress/curl guys that show up on Mondays, and work the only 2 muscles they ever work besides their jaw muscles. Some of those tools do "the big 2" on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so you might want to consider a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday routine. Again, it depends on your gym.


Good Luck!

~Todd

responses within

 

[pegasus]

Taking the advice of Todd, here is what I have come up with

Day 1: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
*Flat Bench Press5x5
*Incline Bench Press3x8-10
*Fly2x8-10
*Overhead Press3x8-10
*Side Lateral Raise2x8-10
*Close Grip Bench Press2x8-10
*Lying Triceps Extension1x8-10

Day 2: Legs and Abs
*Front Squat5x5
*Stiff Leg Deadlift3x8-10
*DB Lunge2x8-10
*Single Leg Calf Raise3x8-10
*Weighted Crunch2x25
*Weighted Reverse Crunch2x25

Day 3:Back/Biceps
*Deadlift5x5
*Bent Row3x8-10
*One Arm Row2x8-10
*Pull Over1x8-10
*Shrug2x8-10
*Straight Bar Curl2x8-10
**Alternating Hammer Curl1x8-10


The 5x5 would be two warm ups followed by three work sets. I thought that this would be a good way to go about it since that would mean all the other muscle groups trained on that day would receive a warm up as well.

Comments.

 

[tatortodd]

I guess I missed the part earlier where you said you were working out at home. Consider yourself lucky that all of my comments on avoiding the crowds and retards don't apply to you.

How so? I didn't post the sets and reps yet.

I'm by no means suggesting that you adopt my workout routine, but you'll see why I said your routine would be too much volume for me without even seeing your reps and sets. I made OK progress on a 3 day volume routine, failed miserably on a 5 day volume routine (got weaker and had major joint pain), and have been doing a 3 day hardgainer routine since August and I'm making the best gains of my life. I've read DC's cycles on pennies thread, all of IA's articles on here, and Stuart McRobert's Brawn. I haven't adopted the extreme stretching (yet) so I won't offend IA or DC by saying I'm doing their program. Everything except squats and abs, I up the weight once I can clear 12 reps. For squats, I up the weight once I can clear 20 reps. For abs, I up the weight once I can clear 25 reps. Here's my most recent 3 day split:

Monday (Week A)

• 5 min moderate cardio for systemic warm-up
• stretching and rotator cuff exercises
• Back Width: Pull-ups. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• Back Thickness: T-bar rows. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• Biceps: Straight bar curls. one work set
• Abs: weighted ab machine. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set

Wednesday (Week A)

• 10 min moderate cardio for systemic warm-up
• stretching
• calves: Standing calf machine. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• hamstrings (plus a few others): Stiff Legged Deadlifts. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• quads (plus a few others): Squats. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• attempt to climb into my truck
• attempt to climb flight of stairs to my condo

Friday (Week A)

• 5 min moderate cardio for systemic warm-up
• stretching and rotator cuff exercises
• chest: flat bench. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• delts: Hammer military press. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• triceps: Reverse Grip Bench on Smith Rack. one work set

Monday (Week B)

• 5 min moderate cardio for systemic warm-up
• stretching and rotator cuff exercises
• Back Width: Lat Pulls. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• Back Thickness: Hammer rows. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• Biceps: preacher curls. one work set
• Abs: weighted ab machine (same as week A). Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set

Wednesday (Week B)

• 10 min moderate cardio for systemic warm-up
• stretching
• calves: seated calf machine. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• hamstrings: Leg Curls. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• quads (plus a few others): Rack Deadlifts. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set

Friday (Week B)

• 5 min moderate cardio for systemic warm-up
• stretching and rotator cuff exercises
• chest: incline bench. Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• delts: military press (different machine than week A). . Warm-up (as much as necessary) and one work set
• triceps: Close Grip Bench on Smith Rack. one work set

~Todd