When begining to Work Out Ques?
- Thread starter Magyk
- Start date
15 reps won't build much strength or definition. It will simply condition you to be able to do lots of reps with little weight.
if you don't eat extra calories, you won't bulk up. So lift heavy, and stick to a 6-10 rep range (6 reps this week, or for 2 weeks, then bump to 10 for a couple weeks). 6-10 reps is the prescription for strength. losing body fat is the recipe for increasing definition along with adding some muscle mass.
If you are brand new to weight training, do one very light warm up set, and one working set per exercise for the first 2-3 weeks. When you're no longer very sore the next day, add another working set.
Always do compound moves (like bench press, deadlift, squats, pullups) first, and then follow them with isolation moves (tricep extensions, bicep curls, leg extensions/curls, seated cable row). In the beginning, you should do full body workouts 2-3 times a week until your body gets accustomed to it. its a lot of work, believe me.
Now, I'm not sure why you are 'afraid' to bulk up. As I said, without a surplus of calories every day, your body won't have the building blocks to add much mass. If you are female, and don't have testicles, your body also lacks the testosterone to allow you to bulk up much. Female bodybuilders that 'look all gross and musclely' use anabolic steroids (testosterone) to achieve that look, and it takes years and years and years of training.
Women who lift heavy with low reps end up with a body like Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2, lean and full of definition...not a She-Hulk.
if you don't eat extra calories, you won't bulk up. So lift heavy, and stick to a 6-10 rep range (6 reps this week, or for 2 weeks, then bump to 10 for a couple weeks). 6-10 reps is the prescription for strength. losing body fat is the recipe for increasing definition along with adding some muscle mass.
If you are brand new to weight training, do one very light warm up set, and one working set per exercise for the first 2-3 weeks. When you're no longer very sore the next day, add another working set.
Always do compound moves (like bench press, deadlift, squats, pullups) first, and then follow them with isolation moves (tricep extensions, bicep curls, leg extensions/curls, seated cable row). In the beginning, you should do full body workouts 2-3 times a week until your body gets accustomed to it. its a lot of work, believe me.
Now, I'm not sure why you are 'afraid' to bulk up. As I said, without a surplus of calories every day, your body won't have the building blocks to add much mass. If you are female, and don't have testicles, your body also lacks the testosterone to allow you to bulk up much. Female bodybuilders that 'look all gross and musclely' use anabolic steroids (testosterone) to achieve that look, and it takes years and years and years of training.
Women who lift heavy with low reps end up with a body like Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2, lean and full of definition...not a She-Hulk.
Keep you on your toes malkore, seated cable rows are not isolation 
You either use your elbows and shoulders or like me i even use my hips.
Good advice thou Magyk, don't worry about getting big we see that here some many times its starting to get annoying. I think its a way for marketing companies to discourage people from using weights and buy there cardio products and fatloss products. You don't need to spend money on cardio or fatloss but to get a overall fit body your certainty need weight training equipment or access to it.
You either use your elbows and shoulders or like me i even use my hips.Good advice thou Magyk, don't worry about getting big we see that here some many times its starting to get annoying. I think its a way for marketing companies to discourage people from using weights and buy there cardio products and fatloss products. You don't need to spend money on cardio or fatloss but to get a overall fit body your certainty need weight training equipment or access to it.
Your getting bigger because your building muscle under your fat. Personally i would try to start eating 2/3's of what you now consider a meal. Most people eat way to many calories at one setting.
Always lift heavy with some light/moderate traning. Light weight will just give you endurance.
Always lift heavy with some light/moderate traning. Light weight will just give you endurance.
newf...you are right...very few isolation moves for the back. I just wanted to put an emphasis on deadlifts and pullups for the back that's all
Newf is right about diet...most people eat 3 times a day, and pack down 800 calories at each meal...which would be about 2,400 calories a day. You'd be far better off eating 400 calories per meal, 6 times a day, for teh same 2,400 calories. It keeps blood sugar levels more stable, and provides a constant source of energy all day long, as well as protien for muscle repair.
(not saying 2,400 calories is a magic number you should consume...just a nice round number for an example)
for definition you need to lose fat. track your diet and find out how many calories you eat every day, grams of protein, fats and carbs consum4ed. I like to use Fitday.com for this so I don't have to write things down...and I'm a computer geek who works at a computer all day long so it's easy for me to update my daily journal.
If you eat 2,800 calories a day now, and aren't losing body fat every week, you should drop 200-400 calories a day, over the course of a few days, stick to that for 2 weeks, and see if you're losing fat then.
As far as getting hungry after working out...you should! You should eat something solid about 90 mins before your workout. assuming your workout is 30-60 mins, that puts you on target to be eating again after workout. I recommend a whey shake or whey + casein if you can afford it (still should be under $1 per serving). Down 30-40g post workout to keep the muscles happy. 60-90 mins after that meal, eat something solid again. You should really eat every 2-3 hours.
And of course, drink lots of water, and take a good multivitamin that contains no fillers or preservatives.
Newf is right about diet...most people eat 3 times a day, and pack down 800 calories at each meal...which would be about 2,400 calories a day. You'd be far better off eating 400 calories per meal, 6 times a day, for teh same 2,400 calories. It keeps blood sugar levels more stable, and provides a constant source of energy all day long, as well as protien for muscle repair.
(not saying 2,400 calories is a magic number you should consume...just a nice round number for an example)
for definition you need to lose fat. track your diet and find out how many calories you eat every day, grams of protein, fats and carbs consum4ed. I like to use Fitday.com for this so I don't have to write things down...and I'm a computer geek who works at a computer all day long so it's easy for me to update my daily journal.
If you eat 2,800 calories a day now, and aren't losing body fat every week, you should drop 200-400 calories a day, over the course of a few days, stick to that for 2 weeks, and see if you're losing fat then.
As far as getting hungry after working out...you should! You should eat something solid about 90 mins before your workout. assuming your workout is 30-60 mins, that puts you on target to be eating again after workout. I recommend a whey shake or whey + casein if you can afford it (still should be under $1 per serving). Down 30-40g post workout to keep the muscles happy. 60-90 mins after that meal, eat something solid again. You should really eat every 2-3 hours.
And of course, drink lots of water, and take a good multivitamin that contains no fillers or preservatives.
So cut the meals to about 6 fist size per day and lift heavier and that should reduce the bulkiness? Actually, read your post M and I will give that a shot.
Thanks
In regards to workout I should use an exercise that emphasizes alot of muscles then chose an exercise that isolates a particular muscle this is best?
And do approximately 6-10 reps?
Thanks
In regards to workout I should use an exercise that emphasizes alot of muscles then chose an exercise that isolates a particular muscle this is best?
And do approximately 6-10 reps?
Yes, start with an exercise, like bench press, that works chest, shoulders and triceps, while the lats stabilize the chest and arms. Then follow that with flyes, which mainly hit the chest, and a little shoulder stabilization. You might then follow that with some shoulder presses/militar presses, since your shoulders got a bit of a workout from benching and are warmed up. Then back that with triceps extensions for the same reason.
6-10 rep range is good, but pick a rep range for 'this workout' today, and stick to it. The next time you go, you can change the reps. Changing reps from workout to workout, or every couple weeks, is called periodizing (in case you wanted to research it more)
6-10 rep range is good, but pick a rep range for 'this workout' today, and stick to it. The next time you go, you can change the reps. Changing reps from workout to workout, or every couple weeks, is called periodizing (in case you wanted to research it more)
And rows. Especially beginners should emphasize rows. Deadlifts, barbell bent over rows, dumbbell rows and you'll have a good foundation for back development.malkore said:newf...you are right...very few isolation moves for the back. I just wanted to put an emphasis on deadlifts and pullups for the back that's all