I wanna start body building!!

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Krisgren
Krisgren Posts: 95
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so I have been working on losing weight since about January and have just about lost 20 pounds, I am about 10 away from where I would like to be for a healthy BMI (and to lose some baby belly that I still have), anyways, while I have been working on this I have been weight lifting and building muscle and have REALLY enjoyed it, I like the challenge and of course I love to see the results. My goal is kinda changing from originally weight loss to now seeing where I can go with body building.

So I am wanting to step it up but not really sure how to go about that. Right now I work out about 3-4 days a week, I do cardio for 30 mins (sometimes the bike or elliptical but mostly the treadmill) then I follow with 20-30 mins of weights.I don't have a strict weight routine I basically pick exercises out of my book (Women's Health big book of exercises). I try to alternate between upper and lower and give my muscles a rest in between.

I am feeling quite unorganized with the weights, I am not really sure what kind of schedule/routine to put myself on to progress to heavier weights. I have a lot of muscle definition in my arms and do feel stronger for sure but I want to keep going and building to see where it takes me.

So just looking for any tips, routines, ideas etc to get started a little more seriously. Please and thank you.


Kris

Replies

  • SierraElegance
    SierraElegance Posts: 86 Member
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    A good start might be a basic and complete program to do at home like ChaLean Extreme. It's a 12 week program that teaches you how to lift heavy with proper form, and is combined with cardio as well. It's well rounded and easy to do, but challenging at the same time. It also comes with a full nutrition plan. I have gone through it several times myself. It's one of the products I offer, feel free to send me a message if you would like more information or coaching!
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
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    you might wanna do figure or fitness instead. female bodybuilding is not gonna happen without steroids.

    As for template, if you're at an intermediate level of strength, look into PHAT or wendlers 5/3/1. If you're still kinda beginner level of strength, get onto Starting strength for a few months to build that strength base first. Then look into the routines listed.

    And of course up calories a bit. Once you hit intermediate, don't be surprised to have to start eating 3-4k calories a day to continue to gain weight.
  • chrisrollins1
    chrisrollins1 Posts: 56
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    You have hundreds of avenues to find free strength training routines online. One that I recommend is StrongLifts 5x5 (stronglifts.com). You can also find several workouts on bodybuilding.com based on what you want to accomplish.

    A few pointers as you progress:

    Do any strength training BEFORE cardio. You can do a quick 5-10 cardio warm-up first, but do the bulk of your cardio afterwards for optimal results.

    Keep a log! Most people I see in the weight room don't use one, and I usually don't see them for more than about 6 weeks. If you don't keep track of your weights and exercises, you'll never know if you're improving or how much. It helps to keep you on track and motivated as well.

    Don't overdo it. 3-5 exercises a day is optimal. There is no need to do 20 isolation exercises every workout.

    Eventually your body will adapt to any exercise you throw at it and you will plateau. As a general rule, isolation exercises can be used for about 6 weeks (exercises that utilize only one joint), and compound exercises (multi-joint exercises like deadlifts, squats, etc) can be done for about 8-12 weeks before you need to change your workout.

    PROTEIN...Make sure you are eating/drinking close to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean weight each day.

    Good luck!
  • Krisgren
    Krisgren Posts: 95
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    Thanks guys, you've given me lots to think about and look up online :) Time for me to step it up!! Isn't it funny how you set a goal sometimes and it turns into something totally unexpected?? I just looooove the rush of the weights and exercises;)

    and PS: I guess I didn't mean body build professionally or anything I meant build my body better with muscle.

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