Bodybuilding for the Beginner!

@ Cashman ive just started this monday well ive bought 150Kg in olympic weights and a weights bench for my home gm and im planning to train monday, wednesday, Friday, and sunday or Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday ( Which would be Better), in each session i intend to do

5*5 Military press ( For my Shoulders)
5*5 bench press ( Chest)
5*5 inclined bench press (chest)
5*5 barbell curl ( Biceps)
5*5 close grip bench press ( Triceps)
5*5 skull crushers ( Triceps)

Could you tell me if this is any good im only looking to build up my shoulders, chest, biceps and Triceps, and my overall goal is to bench press 120kg but remain slim and not fat and be bench pressing 120Kg. Thank you

to be honest Boris that's way too much for a 5x5 programme. This is to be done at very high intensity and as such you will quite simply be overtrained. It also neglects key body parts for back and legs. This is a problem. These are the two largest muscle groups in the body. You risk long term injury and physical imbalance if you focus on the areas you have listed.

Use my 5x5 sample on my routine listing for a balanced programme.

I've just stared going 6 days after a few months on and off of 3 days a week. My main problem is I'm overweight and I find combining weights and aerobic exercise every night is helping, I don't overdo the weight. I may be risking overdoing it but it's hard to stop when the scales are showing the pounds are dropping.

ORIGINAL: jackson3000

I've just stared going 6 days after a few months on and off of 3 days a week. My main problem is I'm overweight and I find combining weights and aerobic exercise every night is helping, I don't overdo the weight. I may be risking overdoing it but it's hard to stop when the scales are showing the pounds are dropping.

what's your routine and diet like?

I do about half an hour of Tae-Bo (DVD), about 45 mins of weights and then 20 mins on teh rowing machine. I guess Tae-Bo acts a warm-up and the rower as a coool-down.
I make sure it's not too quick after eating so I can go at it more and my last meal tends to be a yoghuirt drink or two.

that's an awesome read, im just starting out and ive learned alot of things just from reading that 1 page ..

Hi guys can anyone help PLEASE ! ive been going to the gym for a few months now and im not losing weight or gaining muscle.My workout is 10mins on cross trainer,15mins on the bike and 10 mins on the treadmill.3 sets of 10 reps 45kg chest press,3 sets of 10 reps pull down 45kg,3 sets of 10 reps 35kg butterfly press.every other day.I try to eat well and dont drink or smoke.Wher am i going wrong .I hope someone out there can save me thanks guys.

Jackson 3000, try breaking the sessions up. Have your tae bo cardio in the morning on empty stomach. Do your weights in the evening. This will help with the fat loss further as morning cardio steps up your metabolism for the day.

diet is essential in fat loss or muscle gain.

ORIGINAL: welder

Hi guys can anyone help PLEASE ! ive been going to the gym for a few months now and im not losing weight or gaining muscle.My workout is 10mins on cross trainer,15mins on the bike and 10 mins on the treadmill.3 sets of 10 reps 45kg chest press,3 sets of 10 reps pull down 45kg,3 sets of 10 reps 35kg butterfly press.every other day.I try to eat well and dont drink or smoke.Wher am i going wrong .I hope someone out there can save me thanks guys.

read the guide I've written on page 1 of this thread. It will help get you on the right path.

Hello everyone, I'm a first time poster here on the forum. I'm really impressed with the amount of support offered here for people of different experience.

Cashman your program is great - you've written a very informative piece of work on how to get started. I'm onto my third week of it now and unlike other gym regimes I'm really enjoying working through this structured program. I've started a journal, so I'll post it up after six months or so once I start making some gains.

I'm trying to stick exactly to your advice. I'm trying to eat clean and I'm taking whey every morning and night and after cardio. However, I'm a horribly fussy eater. I eat no red meat or fish. Basicaly the only meat I eat is chicken. Can anyone on the board suggest any vegitarian type foods that are particulary high in protein? I'm at about 20% body fat according to the seven site method so I'm trying to keep calories to a minimum while keeping protein high.

Regarding the program itself on page 1, I find the traps and delts day is a very very quick session. Would I be OK to include it in my abs and legs day ? I'd obviously maintain a seven day rest period. It just feels like a bit of a waste only hitting the gym for about 25 minutes and I don't want to risk overtraining them obviously!

Anyway, after three weeks I've increased the weight on a few of the exercises and my biceps, in particular, look a little more plump. Anyway, I'm happy to see the weights going up so I'm obviously making progress.

Like I say I'll upload the journal once I've made some real gains and will keep reading the forum.

Cheers all,

Chris

Just another couple points...

When doing the lat pull downs what is the best grip to take? I've been using a wide, behind head, grip but I feel this is working my triceps more than my back. Anyone have any thoughts here?

I've also had to change the Ab exercises...

I don't have a swiss ball so I have changed weighted swissball crunches for weighted crunches.

I tried hanging leg raises but I felt my body swinging so I couldn't concentrate on my form so I've changed that to Russian Twists.

I felt a lot of strain on my wrists when doing dumbbell sidebends so I have changed that for weighted incline twisted crunches.

So my final day now looks like this...

Day 4 - Legs and Abs

Barbell Squats
o 4 sets
o 6-8 reps

Stiff Legged Dead Lifts
o 3 sets
o 6-8 reps

Calf Raises
o 4 sets
o 8-10 reps (last set to failure)

Weighted Crunches
o 4 sets
o 6-8 reps

Russian Twists
o 4 sets
o 6-8 reps

Weighted Incline Twisting Crunch
o 3 sets
o 6-8 reps


Do you guys think those changes are alright? I researched close alternatives for the exercises Cashman suggested and thought this would be suitable. Thanks.

changes look fine Chris M. Try pulling down with wide grip in front of your head. Keep form strict. TBH if you can, try wide grip chins as soon as you are able. it's a better exercise IMO.

Cheers Cashman. Just to confirm... it shouldd be alright to include the traps/delts exercises on the legs/abs day?

ORIGINAL: Chris M

Cheers Cashman. Just to confirm... it shouldd be alright to include the traps/delts exercises on the legs/abs day?

That'll be fine, though make sure you have the right nutrition after the sessiona s this will be a big training day. Personally I'd add traps to back day and do legs/delt/ab on another.

ORIGINAL: Cashman

ORIGINAL: Chris M

Cheers Cashman. Just to confirm... it shouldd be alright to include the traps/delts exercises on the legs/abs day?

That'll be fine, though make sure you have the right nutrition after the sessiona s this will be a big training day. Personally I'd add traps to back day and do legs/delt/ab on another.

Yeah that sounds better. Just to check then..


Seated Dumbell Military Press = delts
Lateral Dumbell Raises (side) = delts
Barbell Shrugs = traps

?

Cheers for the advice - I'll stick with that.

that's the puppy

Folks, I've been away from the gym for around 5 years and having just lost 5 stone of fat, i'm ready to return to the fold. Can anyone recommend some good supplements as they've all changed since I last trained. I remember 'dog food', 'die hard' and stuff like that !! Any suggestions.

great reading mate as a beginer il try an adjust my training to follow suit an also question my pt lol but just a question on rest you say give muscles a week to rest ie a 3 day split so should i only do weights for 3 days an the rest cardio or am i gettin messed up cheers mate

ORIGINAL: Moff

Folks, I've been away from the gym for around 5 years and having just lost 5 stone of fat, i'm ready to return to the fold. Can anyone recommend some good supplements as they've all changed since I last trained. I remember 'dog food', 'die hard' and stuff like that !! Any suggestions.

only supp worth having when starting agaion is whey protein for the early morning and post workout shakes for when your body needs it quickly. Other than that what you eat will depend on what your goals are

ORIGINAL: w@yne

great reading mate as a beginer il try an adjust my training to follow suit an also question my pt lol but just a question on rest you say give muscles a week to rest ie a 3 day split so should i only do weights for 3 days an the rest cardio or am i gettin messed up cheers mate

basically it should be a week between hitting the same muscle group again following this method.

e.g. chest/Tri on a monday (repeat again the following monday... 1 weeks rest for chest)