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How to achieve my fitness goals - Page 2

post #16 of 28
5/2/09 at 10:13pm
wmmk,

I used to have the same issues with adding leg mass, but honestly, after a couple years of weightlifting, all that fear has gone out the window. You're really going to have difficulty adding slabs of muscle without attacking the lower body. Once you do work out the lower body, trust me, the health benefits+proportions keep looking better.

You'll feel/look more powerful, look more like a man, and will be able to wear clothes and make them look good. Eat, squat, deadlift, bench, do weighted chinups, mix in a little HIIT and you'll be golden. At your height/frame/weight, there's no such thing as too much muscle.
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post #17 of 28
5/3/09 at 1:22am
I agree with dimshum. for beginning weightlifting, the BFS program is always a good core to start off with, before getting into more complicated things. Try it out.
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post #18 of 28
5/3/09 at 3:54pm
Fair warning about HIIT: it's hard as fuck. For the first time I subbed a beginner's HIIT routine for my normal jog this morning and felt like death for a while.
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post #19 of 28
5/3/09 at 3:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dimshum View Post
wmmk,

I used to have the same issues with adding leg mass, but honestly, after a couple years of weightlifting, all that fear has gone out the window. You're really going to have difficulty adding slabs of muscle without attacking the lower body. Once you do work out the lower body, trust me, the health benefits+proportions keep looking better.

You'll feel/look more powerful, look more like a man, and will be able to wear clothes and make them look good. Eat, squat, deadlift, bench, do weighted chinups, mix in a little HIIT and you'll be golden. At your height/frame/weight, there's no such thing as too much muscle.

Ding, ding, ding....we have a winner! Great advice.
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post #20 of 28
5/3/09 at 5:43pm
Did you start lifting yet?
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post #21 of 28
5/3/09 at 5:59pm
Thread Starter 
OK, thanks for all the advice. I read some of the starting strength wiki and whatnot. I've been busy and unable to make it to the gym (there's a nice one at school), but I've been eating a lot, running and doing situps and pushups in the meantime.

School starts late tomorrow morning, so I was thinking about going in and lifting before school started. I don't have anyone to spot me and am still really fucking weak, so I was thinking it might be good to go in and do some machines before I start squats, deadlifts, etc (which I'm actually pretty gung-ho about doing). Is this smart?
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post #22 of 28
5/3/09 at 6:51pm
I think if anything, you should start doing the basic movements (deads, squats, bench) with the bar to practice working in the groove. Form is of the utmost importance in the beginning, because once you start going heavy, it will fall apart. Practice the form, especially the low-bar squat, and then go to machines if you feel you haven't worked out enough. Remember, read the starting strength wiki in-detail - you don't want to fuck it up from the beginning.
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post #23 of 28
5/3/09 at 7:20pm
Hey wmmk,

Good luck with your fitness goals! I've found this site to be very helpful, they have a great fitness forum that is much more beginner-friendly than the bodybuilding.com boards.

http://johnstonefitness.com/

Read the story of the guy who started it - he's got into great shape over the years - for the first 500 ish days he took a photo every day, and it's cool to see the transformation.

I would absolutely hit the machines tomorrow, don't worry about rushing into things. Free weights offer some advantages, but the bottom line is that getting to the gym is 80% of the battle. You'll work up to squats and deadlifts soon enough!

Bob
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post #24 of 28
5/3/09 at 9:20pm
I'd say free weights from the start! If I could do it again I would have never touched a machine. Good luck! Also, instead of benching I would have done standing overhead presses. They're great especially if you don't want overdeveloped pecs.
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post #25 of 28
5/3/09 at 9:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertorex View Post
I'd say free weights from the start! If I could do it again I would have never touched a machine. Good luck! Also, instead of benching I would have done standing overhead presses. They're great especially if you don't want overdeveloped pecs.
If he's doing starting strength then he does them every othr day. Squats and deads don't need spotters as you can either just drop the bar or squat down in the rack and crawl out. If i fuck up the bench I usually just call out to somebody nearby to get the bar off me. They are fine with it. Also don't start too heavy, the weight WILL get real heavy real fast.
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post #26 of 28
5/3/09 at 11:48pm
I would start off with the bar. For benching, military press, and rows. Deads and squats, do 25 on each side. Do not use machines. Move up when comfortable. You will not develop that second gear yet, so do not push too hard, especially on the bench without a spotter. After a while, you will develop an additional gear where you could push out another rep, but spotters are still recommended (i use them on my last sets, even though i usually reach my goal no problem). And be prepared to be very, very sore. After I took a month off of lifting (went abroad for a while), I couldn't move the first week. Squats will especially kick your butt, so stretch, stretch stretch!
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post #27 of 28
5/3/09 at 11:55pm
I recommend NROL as a great place to start
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post #28 of 28
5/4/09 at 12:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deluks917 View Post
If he's doing starting strength then he does them every othr day. Squats and deads don't need spotters as you can either just drop the bar or squat down in the rack and crawl out. If i fuck up the bench I usually just call out to somebody nearby to get the bar off me. They are fine with it. Also don't start too heavy, the weight WILL get real heavy real fast.
I guess it's alright, I personally just dislike flat benching and if I could do it again, I would just do the standing press exclusively, tossing in some incline benching every now and then for chest work.
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