new guy wondering about a lot of things

[alex]

gday guys im alex from country south oz. i have started doing weights about 3 months ago and have noticed some good gains but starting to slow now. im looking to get a bit bigger but nothing over the top. as i am a lean fellow.

i would love to know if this workout is doing my muscles any damage or if its just pointless. everyone on here seems to really know what they are talking about. im very new to all this so be gentle and here goes....

wed thur fri....

bicep curls 3 sets of 10
tricep dips 3 sets of 20
shoulders 3 sets of 10
bench press 3 sets of 12
lat pull down 3 sets of 12
front bar pull down 3 sets of 12

sat

rest

sunday monday

bicep curls 3 sets of 10
tricep dips 3 sets of 20
shoulders 3 sets of 10
bench press 3 sets of 12
lat pull down 3 sets of 12
front bar pull down 3 sets of 12

tuesday rest

would i be better to concentrate on chest one night, arms one night, legs one night, back one night?? or is the above ok to do what im doing

again thanks and please go easy as im very new

alex

 

[litebulb]

Welcome aboard Alex!

Mate, if you want to get bigger, you have to introduce more "compound" exercises into your routine.

Have a look at this thread, you might find something that suits you

http://ausbb.com/bodybuilding-train...move-your-body-through-space-program-1-a.html

 

[alex]

gday matey. thanks for the link. as i read into the site a bit more im hearing more and more about compound lifting or excercises. i really like the look of this. and it makes sense. i was reading a post josh made which was...

Workout 1 - Do 2 warm up sets and 3 working sets on each excersize.
Increase weights when you complete all sets on each excersize.

Squat 3 x 8
Bench Press 3 x 8
Military Press 3 x 5
Dips 3 x 12

Workout 2 - Do 2 warm up sets and 3 working sets on each excersize. Increase weights when you complete all sets on each excersize.

Deadlift 3 x 5
Barbell Row 3 x 8
Pull Ups 3 x 10
BB Curls 3 x 8

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday twice each per week.
Do all of those excersizes with free weights use good form and eat well. You will grow. i really like this and would love to try it. but i dont have the gear at home. i might have to invest in some.

alex

 

[Fadi]

Hello Alex and welcome home my friend. It's really not complicated unless you make it so.

Either train on Monday and Thursday only doing your whole body; or on Monday, Wed, and Fri doing the same. No need to do every exercise in the book but rather concentrate on the basics. Build a good core (that's a mighty strong lower back and abs), and insure all your stabiliser muscles are playing instead of sleeping. Stabiliser muscles are the ones that are not involved in you moving the weight but are responsible for insuring you don't fall on your face whilst doing so! That is why the compound exercises are king, especially the one that litebulb has given you a link to.

As a beginner, you can lift a can of baked beans and get bigger if you know what I mean. Beginners tends to get bigger/stronger on almost anything. I’ll tell you why (all about it) some other time. Now, just concentrate on the meat and potatoes (I'm not talking about food here OK!).

PS: please don't feel intimidated, everyone on here is a beginner in one way or the other. We all need each other over here at one team Ausbb. Enjoy your stay, ask and contribute, and even invite your friend over to the party...


Fadi.

 

[toasted]

Hi Alex, its good to see that you are reading and learning. As for your program all i can say is start with the basic compounds, you will make much better progress doing simple compounds then isolation exercises. follow the advice on here and you should be right.

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Josh gave good advice there.

You may find you can't get the reps on the bodyweight exercises like pullups or dips. That's because unlike with a bar, you can't lower the weight you're using.

That's okay - just aim to do a certain total of reps in each workout, not worrying about how many you get in one go. For example if you do 10 total it might be 3 reps, then 2, 1, and so on. Next workout, 15 total. Then 20. And so on up to 50. Again, don't worry if it's 8 or 2 or whatever, just get the total. If you can do a total of 50 reps of pullups, chinups, dips, pushups or whatever, then you'll be able to do 8-10 in one go, and can do your planned sets like "chinups, 3x8" etc.

The only thing I'd change with Josh's advice is to do it 2-3 times a week, with at least a full clear day between workouts. For example Mon/Thur, Mon/Wed/Fri, Tues/Thu/Sun, etc. In the beginning using just the bar you can do it every day, but once you get into decent weights you'll usually need that rest.

On 2-3 of the off days do something for fitness - go for an hour's walk, swim or cycle, a half-hour's jog, 15 minutes' windsprints, or whatever.

Eat lots.

 

[Koncept]

From your second post I gather you're doing this at home correct? If so what equipment do you have?

 

[eaglebay]

Josh gave good advice there.

You may find you can't get the reps on the bodyweight exercises like pullups or dips. That's because unlike with a bar, you can't lower the weight you're using.

That's okay - just aim to do a certain total of reps in each workout, not worrying about how many you get in one go. For example if you do 10 total it might be 3 reps, then 2, 1, and so on. Next workout, 15 total. Then 20. And so on up to 50. Again, don't worry if it's 8 or 2 or whatever, just get the total. If you can do a total of 50 reps of pullups, chinups, dips, pushups or whatever, then you'll be able to do 8-10 in one go, and can do your planned sets like "chinups, 3x8" etc.

The only thing I'd change with Josh's advice is to do it 2-3 times a week, with at least a full clear day between workouts. For example Mon/Thur, Mon/Wed/Fri, Tues/Thu/Sun, etc. In the beginning using just the bar you can do it every day, but once you get into decent weights you'll usually need that rest.

On 2-3 of the off days do something for fitness - go for an hour's walk, swim or cycle, a half-hour's jog, 15 minutes' windsprints, or whatever.

Eat lots.

Good info there Kyle, I may incorporate that into my routine as I struggle with them