Bodybuilding for the Beginner!

Originally posted by MuscleBob

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woah great, what are DOMS also?

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Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
The (enjoyable)pain and stiffness you get in your muscles a few days after working them

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some of the stuff i hear on the board is not covered in any FAQ's

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Then it may be just opinion, or may just not be in an article.
Here are the[url='http://muscletalk.co.uk/articles.asp
']articles[/url]

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What are hamstrings, i speak french as my first language

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[url='http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=81217&SearchTerms=hamstrings'][/url]

well it is normal also it isnt covered in any FAQ's also, just asking lotsa questions :)

thanks for the info both dan and cashman!

did the SLDL's and the DOMS in my hamstrings tells me your explanation are perfect as usual! :)

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Hi Cashman First off cheers for a well written and informative thread mate.

I'm a newbie, been training for about 2.5 weeks, my stats are 175lbs 6/.2" tall, after finding this guide I have been following it.

Only problem I am having is getting in the food, not used to eating alot. Got 250g protein and 377g carbs down on mon, but today wasn't so good.

Got some a meal replacement: muscle fuel mass (made by USN- ultimate sports nutrition) 41g protein and 100g carbs per serving...... I am taking this once after training and once around 8-9pm.
I noticed that you advise to use a whey protein in the morning and sometime in the day. Should I take this as well as my meal replacement? Maybe something like.....

Wake up- Whey in water

Breakfast

Lunch

train

Meal replacement

snack

dinner

Meal replacement

Bedtime Whey in water.

Or would I be better of having a meal replacement in the morning, after training and just before sleeping at night?
This would save me buying another supplement, the 'muscle fuel mass' contains:
Maltodextrin, Protein blend / consist of whey protein, calcium caseinate, soy protein and egg albumen powder, Skim milk powder, Cocoa powder (only in chocolate flavour), MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides), Fructose, L-Glutamine, Taurine, Calcium, Sodium Chloride, Aspartame (sweetener), Stabilisers, Vitamin blend (12 vitamins), Flavourants

Again cheers for a great begineers guide!

I'd try for this if bulking is your aim....

Wake up- Whey in water

Breakfast

Meal replacement

Lunch

train
Whey in water immed after training + Simple carbs

Meal replacement

snack

dinner

Meal replacement

Bedtime Whey in milk with flax/rape seed oil

You should aim to be eating a protein and complex carb source every 2-3 hours if you are looking to add mass. Try and keep food intake very clean and low in simple carbs and saturated fats so that you do not gain too much bodyfat. Hope that helps.

Cheers Cashman I'll give that a try mate.

I'm not trying to get into competitions, but I am trying to get back to weight training. I'm 26, 5'10" 190 lbs. I need to loose around 10-12 pounds off my mid-section and get some definition throughout. If anyone can recomend some literature to go by as far as the diet, training routines (non-professional) and such I would greatly appreciate it.

pteradaktil, just use the forum bro! You will find a wealth of knowledge here. Use the search function for specifics, and of course ask questions.

read cashman's routine ;-)

Heya Cashman. Couple of questions about your routine which I'm following :-). First up, I can't train on weekends, my gym is open only half a day on saturday and sunday and I work all day saturday and have other commitments on Sunday. So I workout Monday to Friday. With rest days being Wednesday and the weekend which I'll do cardio in, is that ok?

My other question is about your leg day. You only have Squats for the quads, I did the four sets and I have never felt my ass get such a pounding! I felt more stress on my ass then on my quads! Which I wasn't expecting since I heard squats are the mother of all leg excercises. After Squats I added in 3 sets of Leg Press, which strangely, I felt my quads being used much more then they were in Squats.

Also with Squats, I can't work it til failure! On the fourth set and at the 7th rep I couldn't get up beyond half way and I nearly fell over with the barbell had I not let it drop behind me! I have no spotter, is this a problem that I can't work to full intensity with Squats? Should I just leave out the leg press all together? Thanks Cashman! :-)

Q1. rest day on wed is fine.
Q2. Personally I find that squats hit my quads hard ( but I do lift heavy). It may be that you need to give it a few weeks for your butt to strengthen so that you can go up the weight. A couple of sets of leg presses are fine at this stage though if you feel up for doing them.
Q3. Be careful with squats. Do you have a power rack to squat in (adjustable bars that will cath the barbell if it's dropped)? If not then be cautious about going heavy. If you feel the strength start to go then try not to force another rep out. Listen to your body and if you do fail then just drop that bar back off your shoulders ASAP.

I'm having trouble understanding this article. It is meant to help beginners right? But can a real beginner understand the terms of these exercises? I mean, i dont even understand half of those exercises you've listed cashman. I pic to each of them or a little informative description would help a LOT.

I have provided a link to a website in the article (called "curious about an exercise") that shows demonstartions of virtually all the exercises listed barton. Try it.

If you still have problems working any out then please list the exercises that you don't know how to perform and I'll be happy to help.

barton, fyi here's the link I was on about....

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=33049

Good luck.

Cashman instead of going for swimming fro Cardio what would you recommend in terms of running? (Intensity and length)

^^^^^^^
Depends on what you are looking to achieve. My guess is that if you are after fat loss then you should run at a very easy pace (mid intensity cardio) that you can keep comfortably up for 40-60 minutes. At a point where you are sweaty but not puffing and panting oarticularly hard. If you work too hard then your body goes catabolic and ignores fat for fuel. If you have no carbs in your body at this point then it takes it from muscle protein which is not good. Remember that it's easier than you think when jogging to push your heart rate up pretty high.

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Originally posted by Cashman

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Originally posted by Radio

I have a question `. I have beed advised to to do Monday: chest/biceps
Teusday: Legs wed : off Thurs: back abbs Friday : shoulders triceps.

But my biceps get a hammering from doing back work. Does this mean im probably over training my biceps?. They are more or less getting hit twice a week. I thought about not working on a weekly basis and doing a days rest between each workout and then 2 days off then start over again. to increase my rest times.

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I'd put your back day to friday to allow more recovery between back & legs as these are often the most draining days. This is pretty common if you don't do biceps with back IMO. Pertsonally I'd put trticeps with chest, biceps after back, shoulders & traps and legs as a decent 4 day split. It's good that you are listening to your body though as most don't.

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Thanks LittleA? Er.... was there a question you had?

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Originally posted by Cashman
If you still have problems working any out then please list the exercises that you don't know how to perform and I'll be happy to help.

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on chest/tri day
overhead cable presses 3 sets 6-8 reps

is that this -


or this -



or something else?



mark

my guess is that it is the second one!

Yep, definitely the second one.

coool! i was doing those for the last 2 weeks and they rule!
but i saw that other excercise on some site under the name overhead cable press
and just wondered.

cheers.


mark

isnt the second guy much more convincing then the first one already? ;-)

I cant see the 2nd version of the overhead cable press. The picture does not display in my browser. Can you tell me what it looks like or point me somewhere else. Its the one exercise I can't track down.

Try this kid congo.....

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/CBBentoverTriExt.html

thanks for that cash. now I am enlightened.

would that be the only tri exercise you do or should you do 2 or 3 on chest/tri day

why in gods name does this Guide say that steroid use is ok once you have hit a plateu? I know I'm only a beginer but thats talking absolute sh!te mate saying that, I want to have big pecks not womens breats which you get from steroids and I would like to live to see 50 instead of having a decade or so being the biggest b@stard to walk the planet.

I know plenty of people who use steroids, one of them is going blind, another has just had to have an operation because hes growing breats and another had a heart attack not to long ago.

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Originally posted by Six-Pack

why in gods name does this Guide say that steroid use is ok once you have hit a plateu? I know I'm only a beginer but thats talking absolute sh!te mate saying that, I want to have big pecks not womens breats which you get from steroids and I would like to live to see 50 instead of having a decade or so being the biggest b@stard to walk the planet.

I know plenty of people who use steroids, one of them is going blind, another has just had to have an operation because hes growing breats and another had a heart attack not to long ago.

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Before you run off like a headless chicken on this one I suggest you re-read what I exactly say as you appear to have got this well and truly wrong. What I say is this...

"As for beginners thinking about steroids…. Forget it. They are for the serious & experienced Bodybuilder who has reached their natural limit. A get big quick solution may seem appealing to a novice but do not be tempted as you need to know what your body’s limits are to use these effectively IMO. "

Now, you tell me where I say about it's ok when you reach a plateau. Your natural physical limit is WAY different to your plateauing (which often happens every 3 months). It is a fact in Bodybuilding that steroids get used at all levels (especially at the senior end and that is the individuals choice) and that THOUSANDS of beginners are tempted into the use of AAS very early on. It is a fact that steroids take the body beyond the natural limit which is why the majority of competitive BBers are that much bigger than natural trainers. It is a fact that most competitive sports - football, athletics, cycling, tennis, rugby, etc, etc have competititors of the highest level take banned substrances such as AAS. You're very naive if you think otherwise. It's not fair, and it's not right but that doesn't change the facts that it happens. What I say there is to prevent people with little knowledge of their body's limits from taking something such as AAS.

As sad as your story is it is most probably due to inexperienced and unknowledgeable use and abuse of AAS that has led to these results (which is why I ALWAYS steer beginners away from AAS). I strongly suggest that you get your facts and quotes right before attacking me in my own thread.

this is verry usefull, thanks alot

Im going to be using cashmans routine (apart from missing the legs bit out) but i have a rubish memory so i created a little table with diagrams to help me out, as i spent 1/2 hour making it i thought i might as well share it.

Try and print it out on both sides of 1 A4 paper

Thanks again cashman for the routine

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/adamo.r/Exer/exercise.doc

Nice post cashman, I started using this routine yesterday. I have one question though, I did the chest/triceps routine yesterday and it took me around 45mins to complete it. Some of the veteran guys are telling me that the time I spend in the gym is too short, they say they spend at least 1.5 hours in the gym. Is this bull or am I working out too fast?

you gotta remember this is a beginner routine, therfore not as many lifts added to the routine or as many reps

maybe they have longer rountines

45 mins is the perfect length!!!! 1.5 hours is way too long and definitely overtraining.

I dont have enough plates and will be using only barbels for chest/tri, I will change that in a couple of weeks when I have money...

Also how long should I wait between each sets? I'm thinking about 2 minutes.

a minute or so is plenty.

minute and a half then?
minute used to feel pretty soon last time I worked-out..

Hi

I'm more intermediate than beginner, but I have stopped making progress (I think I am overtraining) and I am going to try your routine. I was wondering if drop sets can be incorporated into this workout. I like doing them, and usually finish most of the different exercises with one, but maybe it is too much? Or could I do it say every other week, or every third week?

Thanks

Drop sets are an easy way to overtrain. I'd save drop sets for once every 4 weeks to shock the CNS and muscles. You can do a drop set based regular workout but you would drastically need to reduce the number of total sets you work at overall which is basically a totaly different workout.