Thread: Need Help.. Newbie bodybuilder

in my opinion, your fat loss will come from diet and cardio. -i wouldn't lift on a cardio day.

hit the torrent sites or visit a bookstore and look for every excercise/nutrition/bodybuilding book that you can find. good luck.

if i were you i'd be drinking lots of bhang lassi for protein and relaxation to help recover.

That split isn't great at all. You need more rest, way more rest in fact. Theres absolutely no point in dedicating a whole day to a tiny muscle group such as biceps or triceps. You could also get away with doing shoulders and chest on the same day.

Instead of a body-part split, why not start with a basic Push/Legs/Pull split like this, for example:


PUSH
Bench Press
Military Press
Dips
Face Pulls
Tricep Extensions


LEGS
Squats
Good Mornings
Walking Lunges
Hip Thrusts
Calve Raises


PULL
Deadlifts
Bent Over Rows
Dumbell Rows
Chinups
Barbell Curls


The first exercise in each workout could be 3x5 after two light warmup sets, the second and third could be 4x10, the fourth and fifth can be 3x15-20. In the case of chinups, just do as many as you can each set. If you're lucky enough to have the use of an assisted pullup machine then by all means use it.

I think you'll find this program a lot more interesting because of the varied rep ranges, you'll have more rest days too which means better workouts and more progress. The whole "high reps for losing fat" is a bunch of crap, too, so theres no need to be doing 20 reps on absolutely everything.

Give it a try for a while and see what happens. If you're trying to lose fat all the action is gonna happen because of your diet management anyways.

hey thanx a lot everyone fr ur tips..
i frgt to mention bt i do atleast 30 mins of cardio everyday which includes cycling.. jogging.. crunches and leg raise.. ( arnd 150 reps of each) plus am havin a very controlled diet of protein and carbs and very less fat which is unavoidable here in India

@gazhole.. thanx fr u detailed instructions buddy.. i will change my routine according to what u have suggested..
cheers!!

in my opinion, your fat loss will come from diet and cardio. -i wouldn't lift on a cardio day.

That is, bad advice. Cardio is optional.

Originally Posted by yash188

@gazhole.. thanx fr u detailed instructions buddy.. i will change my routine according to what u have suggested..
cheers!!

No problem.

Cardio is fine, but i would still limit it to 30 minutes 5 days a week. Take the weekend off and enjoy yourself, dude! Focus on intensity rather than duration, so if you can smash your cardio in 10 minutes by doing a set of hill sprints then do it.

Also, there is no reason to train your abs in that way. Extra ab training will not increase the rate of fat loss in that area - it just isn't physiologically possible to do that. All you'll end up doing is building a chunky muscular waist and who the hell wants to look like a perfect rectangle?

Add a set or two of abs to your weights days 3x a week, and make sure you focus on the lower back and obliques as well as the stomach. Something like:

Weighted Crunches/Situps - 3x15 after your workout on monday.

Back Raises - 3x15 after wednesday's workout.

Cable Anti-Rotations - 3x15 after fridays workout.

Will do your abs just fine. They are a muscle like any other, after all, and will be easily overtrained just the same. Nobody ever considers training legs every day, but think abs is fine. They're both muscles, they both require rest.

Originally Posted by karamazov

if i were you i'd be drinking lots of bhang lassi for protein and relaxation to help recover.

By bhang lassi I guess you are referring to Buttermilk or milk protein. Right?

But milk protein is peculiar 'casein' protein which is not absorbed instantly. It is ideal before bedtime though and not for pre-workout or post workout.

Push pull leg is the best like Gazhole suggested.

But I still remember when I first went to the gym I was very curious to know all the exercises I would often ask people what this exercise was for when I found someone do something. May be you can just stick to your trainers routine for a while to get a feel of different things

haha fr sure i dnt wanna look like a rectangle.. and once again i would incorporate wat u have suggested.. that abs routine was tiring me out too much.. i dont think i am too fat.. just little bit at stomach nd chest.. i am 5'6'' 126 pounds.. thnx fr ur suggestions everyone..

@bentoversrows.. yea i knw wat you mean.. even i find it curious when i see someone doing a workout i have neva seen.. ^_^

try to make it like this:
day 1-chest
day 2-legs
day 3-shoulders
day 4-back
day 5-triceps
day 6-biceps
This way muscle groups which are being used just for support will be worked on properly the next day

I agree with gazhole. Beginners really shouldn't use 5-6 day splits. You need to build a base first. Compound exercises, such as what gazhole outlined in his push/pull/legs split are what you need.

Originally Posted by Gazhole

That split isn't great at all. You need more rest, way more rest in fact. Theres absolutely no point in dedicating a whole day to a tiny muscle group such as biceps or triceps. You could also get away with doing shoulders and chest on the same day.

Instead of a body-part split, why not start with a basic Push/Legs/Pull split like this, for example:


PUSH
Bench Press
Military Press
Dips
Face Pulls
Tricep Extensions


LEGS
Squats
Good Mornings
Walking Lunges
Hip Thrusts
Calve Raises


PULL
Deadlifts
Bent Over Rows
Dumbell Rows
Chinups
Barbell Curls


The first exercise in each workout could be 3x5 after two light warmup sets, the second and third could be 4x10, the fourth and fifth can be 3x15-20. In the case of chinups, just do as many as you can each set. If you're lucky enough to have the use of an assisted pullup machine then by all means use it.

I think you'll find this program a lot more interesting because of the varied rep ranges, you'll have more rest days too which means better workouts and more progress. The whole "high reps for losing fat" is a bunch of crap, too, so theres no need to be doing 20 reps on absolutely everything.

Give it a try for a while and see what happens. If you're trying to lose fat all the action is gonna happen because of your diet management anyways.

This is great advice. You can drop off the arm isolation work if your cutting if you want to. If not that' still a fine routine to follow.

hey thanx all fr ur valuable suggestions.. i hv actually varied my routine according to what gazhole suggested.. and its really workin out since i get much more rest than earlier.. thanx again..

Good to hear, keep us updated of your progress. I recommend starting a training log in the online journals section to keep track of your workouts and get specific advice from the members there.