Lifting Weights/Gaining Muscle Tone for total beginner

Viridian1539

Hey everyone!

I am *just* getting into the world of building muscle. A couple of my former (OT and PT) coworkers talked about how good it was for overall health and also for mood/emotional regulation. I've tried to do some research but good ol' search engines spit out a lot of information and it's very overwhelming.

Wondering if anyone knows of good resources for starting on weight lifting? I am 22 years old and have never done any weight lifting at all, so I really need beginner information.

Thanks in advance for all the help!

Retroguy2000

How many days per week?

Starting Strength is often recommended for new people. It's the most important compound lifts, designed to get you stronger. You'll build muscle along the way.

Are you overweight, normal, or under? You'll want somewhere between 0.7g protein per pound if you're overweight, to 1g if you're lean. You should want a small calorie deficit if your body fat is too high, otherwise a small surplus.

AnnPT77

I like the advice above, but would comment that as a true novice, almost nothing you do will turn out to be seriously wrong/useless, as long as it isn't injurious. If you can afford a few sessions with a well-credentialed personal trainer to get started (not somebody with a few hours certification course who works at a cheap chain gym), then that would probably be a good investment.

Viridian1539

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

How many days per week?

Starting Strength is often recommended for new people. It's the most important compound lifts, designed to get you stronger. You'll build muscle along the way.

Are you overweight, normal, or under? You'll want somewhere between 0.7g protein per pound if you're overweight, to 1g if you're lean. You should want a small calorie deficit if your body fat is too high, otherwise a small surplus.

I'm 5'9" at 195lbs right now. Goal weight has typically been ~150. Not sure what the recommended number of days for strength training per week are, but I have 3-4 days in my schedule that I could visit the gym for an hour, maybe two.

I'll take a look at Starting Strength. Thanks so much for the recommendation!

nossmf

One of our MFP trainers IRL created this post to compile in one spot a variety of workout programs, whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced, whether you have access to all sorts of fancy gym equipment, dumbbells only, or nothing more than body weight. Have a look, see if you can find a program which catches your eye.

Beyond the physical improvements lifting brings, I can testify to the psychological benefits. When I started lifting, I was overweight, unemployed, worried about feeding a wife and four kids, feeling pretty down. Lifting helped improve my outlook immensely, and soon enough I had a new job, a new lease on life, and never looked back. Lifting is my "me" time, when I take a break from trying to help everybody else and focus only on my needs. Plus, it's cheaper than therapy to toss heavy pieces of iron around, and a lot more socially acceptable than throwing around people who annoy me outside the gym, lol.

jiggyj9

Welcome to weight training! As said above, there are vast psychological benefits to lifting weights. Personally, it has changed my inner life and is an absolute necessity for my mental health.

Contrary to a poster above, I would not recommend starting strength for an absolute beginner, at least not without a trainer. But this is a rather biased opinion, because I injured myself using a barbell with bad form as a novice. Having a PT background, you are likely in a better starting place than I was. But whether or not you are using a bar or free weights, start light and keep the focus on your form. And don't do anything that hurts or isn't right for your body even if a program calls for it.

I hope this helps. Good luck!!

psuLemon

What are your lifting and/or aesthetic goals?

Dokus013

I think beginners and advanced lifters can benefit from listening to "Mindpump". Great podcast, can also be found on YouTube if you're more into watching.

CJtotoro2021

Kia Ora

I started my Bodybuilding journey March this year, I have never done it before and have learnt somuch and still learning, i started at 95kgs, dropped down to 75kgs in 3 months, with High Intensity cardio, I felt good and looked good however, I looked to small, so I decided to blow everything up and put some size back on, my cal intake was 3800 made of 20% fat 40% carb 40% protein.

My weight training was heavy weight working only compound muccel groups with the goal to increase the weight every set to help build strength and muscle, they say if your getting stronger your building muscle. My gym time is only 40-45 minutes, get in there do the work get out. I train 3 days on, 1 day rest repeat. Monday is chest/biceps. Tuesday back/triceps. Wednesday legs/shoulders. Thursday rest. Friday repeat Monday and so on.

I only do 4 sets of each workout, 1 warm up set of a weight I can push 20reps then 3 working sets. However eg if im doing 3 different chest workouts i would only do one warm up set for whole chest, and just do working sets for the remainder of the chest workout.

Rest days. There were times I had to take a few extra rest days as there were days I felt flat, I even took a whole week off one part there, I tell you that was like reseting the body, important to listen to your body you will know when you need extra rest.

My rest days were not really rest days they were my slow state cadio days so I'll walk or sit on a treadmill for 45 mins and aim to burn 400cal just to keep active and keep the metabolism burning.


I learnt Food is Important you have to eat to grow. I tried the dirty bulk didn't like it, and if I carried on I would've found it challenging to stop eating, so I quickly went back to clean eating. My protein foods are venison steak, venison mince, chicken breast, egg whites. My carbs mostly consist of (my favorite) oats, sweet potato, fruits, however I love oats that's also my pre-workout meal.

I found if you eat to your calorie goals daily you will be good to go.

My next step is to slowly cut now I am currently sitting on 83kgs and looking alot fuller my goal is to sit at 75kgs and keep that fuller look at that weight. My first body building comp is in September. I am now learning on how to cut without burning into the muccel, I have just started carb cycleling so learning something new.

I hope this was of some what usefull.

This photo was me at 95kg and my first drop to 75kgs my goal is to look alot fuller when I next weigh in at 75kgs

ninerbuff

If you're just starting out and have access to a gym here's a very basic workout you can do. First check to see if attempting any of these exercises causes you any acute pain with a PT. Make sure you learn the right form for every exercise and don't do it more than 3 times a week.
Everything is 2-3 sets dependent on your overall fitness. DON'T overdo because it can leave you really really sore for more than 2 days and unconditioned people can actually damage muscle from overdoing.

Leg extensions
Seated or lying leg curls
Squat or leg press
Pulldowns
Seated cable row
Push ups or dumbbell bench press
Dumbbell side laterals
Barbell or dumbbell curls
Lying tricep extension
Captain's chair knee ups or lying leg lifts
Plank or basic crunch

I do this with all beginner clients to get them acclimated to full body workouts and once they get past a couple of weeks or so, I change up exercises and increase resistance based on their progressions.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

nossmf

Interesting that you do isolation leg exercises before the compound for brand new clients.

Retroguy2000

@nossmf

I saw that too, but I figured it's for beginner clients, so does it really matter? Plus, it can be a nice warmup before getting into the compounds.

For an intermediate/advanced, yeah I definitely agree with you.

Other than that quibble, excellent list. What is lying tricep extension, is that a skullcrusher?

ninerbuff

nossmf wrote: »

Interesting that you do isolation leg exercises before the compound for brand new clients.

Yes, because I can't use as much weight as a compound like squatting and it helps to "lube" my knees up for compound exercises.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

@nossmf

I saw that too, but I figured it's for beginner clients, so does it really matter? Plus, it can be a nice warmup before getting into the compounds.

For an intermediate/advanced, yeah I definitely agree with you.

Other than that quibble, excellent list. What is lying tricep extension, is that a skullcrusher?

Yes. Many focus on push/pressdowns, kickbacks, close grip benching, but it's things like overhead extensions and lying extensions that target long head of the triceps.
Personally I don't bring the bar to my forehead. I usually use dumbells, use a reverse grip and decend the dumbbells to the outside and just above my head when lying down.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Retroguy2000

ninerbuff wrote: »

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

@nossmf

I saw that too, but I figured it's for beginner clients, so does it really matter? Plus, it can be a nice warmup before getting into the compounds.

For an intermediate/advanced, yeah I definitely agree with you.

Other than that quibble, excellent list. What is lying tricep extension, is that a skullcrusher?

Yes. Many focus on push/pressdowns, kickbacks, close grip benching, but it's things like overhead extensions and lying extensions that target long head of the triceps.
Personally I don't bring the bar to my forehead. I usually use dumbells, use a reverse grip and decend the dumbbells to the outside and just above my head when lying down.

Agreed, those are my favorites. Also, dips.

I haven't tried supinated grip. I do neutral (like hammer curl) with db's, or regular pronated with ez-bar.

ninerbuff

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

@nossmf

I saw that too, but I figured it's for beginner clients, so does it really matter? Plus, it can be a nice warmup before getting into the compounds.

For an intermediate/advanced, yeah I definitely agree with you.

Other than that quibble, excellent list. What is lying tricep extension, is that a skullcrusher?

Yes. Many focus on push/pressdowns, kickbacks, close grip benching, but it's things like overhead extensions and lying extensions that target long head of the triceps.
Personally I don't bring the bar to my forehead. I usually use dumbells, use a reverse grip and decend the dumbbells to the outside and just above my head when lying down.

Agreed, those are my favorites. Also, dips.

I haven't tried supinated grip. I do neutral (like hammer curl) with db's, or regular pronated with ez-bar.

I do it with reverse grip because it takes the forearms out of the equation. Hence I can't use as much weight. However the burn and contractions are immense. Triceps are my best body part and I attest that overhead and lying extensions are the reason why.



A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

nossmf

Clarification...reverse grip on DB lying extensions has palms facing you when weight is at the low point, correct? Definitely a grip tester, also.

I use hammer grips to lessen strain on my elbows, and I cannot do dips due to strain on my shoulders.

Retroguy2000

Right. Pronated is palms facing towards you when standing. Supinated is reverse grip, like for a bicep curl.

tabb431

How long should you rest and how many days should we workout for starters ?

ninerbuff

nossmf wrote: »

Clarification...reverse grip on DB lying extensions has palms facing you when weight is at the low point, correct? Definitely a grip tester, also.

I use hammer grips to lessen strain on my elbows, and I cannot do dips due to strain on my shoulders.

Yes. On days I feel my elbows tested, I wear elbow sleeves for a little support and keep the joing warmer.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

psuLemon

tabb431 wrote: »

How long should you rest and how many days should we workout for starters ?

In general, 2-6 workouts a week, and 60 sec to 5 minutes in between sets depending on what it is. Many of the workouts in the sticky. They will tell you everything you need.