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Eat, lift, and grow big

jarude

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Originally Posted by DXanatos
Could you please elaborate on this one?

hypertrophy programs aren't nearly as effective if you haven't built up a base level of strength already. typically hypertrophy based programs involve doing exercises in the 8-12 rep range, where as strength based programs involve doing exercises at the 4-6 rep range.

not to say 3x10 in itself is bad, certain muscle groups respond better to more volume based training (i do 3x10 triceps for example) i think what he was trying to say was stick to the strength training before you worry about arnold training.
 

somatoform

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Originally Posted by bawlin
But he did a ****-ton of steroids which makes your point completely moot.


It does? Because steroids alone build muscle, just sitting there on the couch? And all steroid consumption being equal, Paul Dillet's quads are lacking in relation to other roiding bodybuilders who squat how?
 

J'aimelescravates

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Originally Posted by jarude
Looks like there's another proliferation of "halp me get jacked plz" threads.

Beginners, here's how you get started:

1. Eat 1 to 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight. The rest of your intake will be good carbs and fat. Ensure you are getting your nutrients from a variety of good sources.
1a) If you're trying to bulk up, find your daily calorie needs and eat 500 cals/day over that.
1b) If you're trying to cut down, find your daily calorie needs and eat 500 cals/day below that.
2. Lift consistently on a compound lift-based program, such as Starting Strength or 5x5.
3. Sleep a lot
4. Don't **** with steps 1-3

It's that.*******.simple. Some resources to help you along:

www.ironaddicts.com
www.redpointfitness.com
www.fitday.com
www.exrx.net
www.bulknutrition.com
www.trueprotein.com

I swear to god, if you go out and start buying gainers and doing routines out of mens fitness or adding 3x15 sets of hammer curls for the girls I am going to come find you, jack off into your gainer shakes, wipe ****** with your mens fitness, and kick you in the balls when you decide to alter the program. I guarantee you, if you're a beginner and you stick to these steps, you will find success.

Commence threadshitting.


Good post.
The only thing I would add is rest to step 3. Sleep is very important but rest and taking days off is very important too. Don't go to the gym every day. Give your body some time to recover and repair itself. Try to get in 8 hours of sleep per night
 

Hartmann

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Originally Posted by somatoform
It does? Because steroids alone build muscle, just sitting there on the couch?

No joke, they actually do, I remember reading a study in which individuals took steroids and did absolutely no planned physical exercise and gained 4 lbs of lean body mass, while in the same time period it those following a normal bodybuilding routine gained 7 lbs
 

JackM

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I think one of the crucial things missing from these threads is some advice on how to keep track of progress. For a n00b especially, it's important to know how well you are doing in order to see what combo of workout and diet are working for you and in order to stay motivated.

Weight is not that useful by itself, since one could be gaining mainly body fat, or gaining muscle disproportionately in certain areas. Strength is also not that useful as a measure of progress if hypertrophy is the goal. Before/after pics require consistent lighting and stance, a good camera, and doesn't provide a quantitative measure of progress. Taking actual measurements of different body parts is another possibility, but couldn't be done that often and would require another person's assistance.

Any other suggestions?
 

db_ggmm

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Use strength as your measure of progress. If you care about hypertrophy, measure your strength with sets of higher reps, but measure strength.
 

Rikkar501

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Originally Posted by JackM
I think one of the crucial things missing from these threads is some advice on how to keep track of progress. For a n00b especially, it's important to know how well you are doing in order to see what combo of workout and diet are working for you and in order to stay motivated. Weight is not that useful by itself, since one could be gaining mainly body fat, or gaining muscle disproportionately in certain areas. Strength is also not that useful as a measure of progress if hypertrophy is the goal. Before/after pics require consistent lighting and stance, a good camera, and doesn't provide a quantitative measure of progress. Taking actual measurements of different body parts is another possibility, but couldn't be done that often and would require another person's assistance. Any other suggestions?
You're right, tracking progress is very important. Keep a workout log; doesn't have to be an Excel spread sheet or anything, just writing down each workout and poundages in a notebook works fine. Trying to beat a previous workout should be your goal. As far as physical tracking goes, nothing beats the mirror! Forget about your weight, go by how you look; if your goal is hypertrophy then visibly seeing your muscles grow and your body fat drop is a great way to track your progress. If strength is your goal then measure that, by keeping track of poundages and volume.
 

JackM

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Originally Posted by db_ggmm
Use strength as your measure of progress. If you care about hypertrophy, measure your strength with sets of higher reps, but measure strength.

I guess that might be the most practical thing to do. It requires you to assume that higher reps = max hypertrophy, which I've heard a lot of hearsay about, but haven't seen any hard evidence for (not that I doubt there's evidence, just haven't seen it yet).

Originally Posted by Rikkar501
As far as physical tracking goes, nothing beats the mirror! Forget about your weight, go by how you look; if your goal is hypertrophy then visibly seeing your muscles grow and your body fat drop is a great way to track your progress.

Looking in the mirror doesn't really work for me, because I see myself in the mirror every day so it's hard to track incremental changes. Also, a more quantitative measure would be better for A/B testing.
 

NoStyle14

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Originally Posted by Rikkar501
A couple more things: DO NOT ******* jump on a training program every time you pick up a magazine and see some cool new training program that Jay Cutler is using to prep for the Mr. Olympia!

You need to stick with a program (following it the way it was written) for at least 6 weeks before complaining that it doesn't work for you.

No matter what your goals are you can not go wrong with a program centered around bench press, deadlifts, squats, and over-head presses. There is a reason these lifts have been staples for what, 100 years. THEY WORK, no matter if your goal is "toning", bulking, or athletic training.

And please, drop the 3x8-10 bullshit for ***** sake! Those programs are designed for pussies that care only about a pump and for "enhanced" professionals that have built up a substantial base of muscle mass.


What about 2x8-10 rather than the usual 5-7 reps?
 

Kas

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Originally Posted by Jekyll
I have a bar and some dumbbells but no power rack or bench. Gym is not an option. What can I do?

Body weight movements? You can always do push-ups and squats, and variations thereof (goblet squat, triangle push-up, pistol, etc.). You can also do floor-presses with the barbell, deadlifts, clean+squat, etc.
 

Valor

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Situps, Push ups, Dips, Pull ups(if you can do them, if not use a chair) and Squats.
 

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