Thread: Too young to bodybuild?

its difficult to put muscle on in general. i dont think youre too young [better to young than to old, anyways]. stick with it for 6 months or so. you should definately see some results by then.

not to young at all. lift and eat.

Gaining size has more to do with food than "lifting properly." Of course doing the eating and not the lifting wont give you the size you want, but burning calories in a gym lifting heavy objects does not put size on someone all by itself.

Hell no, I'd say it's a good time to start!
Eat, train, sleep, eat, train, sleep... you will grow but it takes time to develop muscle - be patient and it will come.

ya just keep pounding down the food and hitting the weights and results will come, especially since you just started. stick with it and you will see great results. as long as your weight training is good and your not over training you'll do great, but of course diet is a BIG part of it.

what does your training split/individual workouts look like as of now?

what about your diet?

I saw plenty of developed people in my high school years. Diet is way more important than most newbies realize, I didn't know it for YEARS unfortunately, and yet its such a basic principle to grasp.

I am down about 30 pounds from simple dietary changes, because I just dont eat as much as I used to. Has my routine changed so much that somehow my weight magically dropped? No, no and definitely not.

If you want size you have to eat for it.

Lifting weights = 4-5 hours a week.
Cooking and eating right = 20+ hours a week.

Which one looks like it requires more time and effort? Anyone can show up at the local gym, not just anyone can dicipline themselves to eat properly in a society that eats crap.

you really only lift four or five hours a week mudge? dam i just got home from the gym, i got there at 1:15, its now 4:24
would you classify yourself as a mesomorph or similar?
just curious, you obviously get results from your programs.

Originally Posted by TheCurse

you really only lift four or five hours a week mudge? dam i just got home from the gym, i got there at 1:15, its now 4:24
would you classify yourself as a mesomorph or similar?
just curious, you obviously get results from your programs.

you were lifting for 3hrs?

Originally Posted by TheCurse

would you classify yourself as a mesomorph or similar?

Not even remotely close. Ecto/endo, right now my guts peak measurement is 39.25" in the AM and for me that is the best I've seen in about 2 years. Unfortunately I'm also the lightest I've been in about 2 years, 234.5 pounds this AM (upon wakeup).

Diet is really important. There are some days where I can't eat for 12 hours, and its costing me in a big way.

Preparing for the gym may take 15-30 minutes, and then getting home, dumping the protein shake and winding down another 30 or so. But in the gym, actual time for me is 45 minutes to no more than 1:15 or so, 4 days a week (currently). Its a situation where you can't have one without the other. If you want to gain 20 pounds, you have to eat your way there. If you want it to be muscle, then you have to eat the right foods at the right times in the right quanities, and you have to go to the gym as well. Without one of those ingredients, including proper rest and so on, something is not going to be as good as it could have otherwise been for you.

I just bought a book on nutrient timing a couple days ago, can hardly wait to crack it open.

FWIW, the older I get the closer and closer I keep getting to an HIT style routine. If i lift heavy, I just can't do high volume stuff. If I am lifting puny weights its almost as if volume is a requirement, because otherwise its no challenge for the body. Then you get into useless hypertrophy where your muscles adapt by storing fluids, instead of developing real strength.

Look up sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and myofibrillar hypertrophy if you have some time to kill.

You aren't too young. I was fifteen when I started (sixteen now) and I've seen very good strength gains; along with those came moderate gains in size.

Originally Posted by P-funk

you were lifting for 3hrs?

today was a bit long, im usually actually lifting weights for about 1:45 -2 hrs. but i take long breaks on my initial stuff if im doing the lower rep thing. like today was back day, so my first exercise is weighted pullups, but before i can do that i warm up with the pull down machine for like 3 sets (55, 100, 130 or something like that on the stack) and then throw out a half dozen pull ups, then im ready to go. today i did pullups +25, +45, +70, then switched to chin grip, +70, +45. i was doing six rep sets except on the first one. that whole thing probably takes 20-30 mins. i take as much time as i think i need between sets, cuz that shit is hard lol. and then next is bent rows, similar thing, sans the warmups, after that one arm dumbell rows, similar strategy again.

so it takes probably over an hour for me to hit my main lifts the way i do. when i try resting less, i cant lift as much. rest periods shorten after the big compound movements.
yea i know that sounds like overtraining, but i just dont seem to get the results from less volume. i can grow pretty quick but i can shrink even quicker. at 30 i still have an very fast metabolism though, i think i fit the extreme ectomorph body profile.

Originally Posted by TheCurse

today was a bit long, im usually actually lifting weights for about 1:45 -2 hrs.

Holy doodle - that's long!

Originally Posted by BritChick

Holy doodle - that's long!

That's more than twice as long I work out on average. As for the original question, you could start working out at 13 and make gains, 17 is no were near to young.

thats how long i lift 2....1 anda half to 2 hours

naaa it aint to young I'm 16 and i've ben doing it seriously for ab a yr and a half r so....I've gained like 30-40 lbs form what i used to be

thats how long i lift 2....1 anda half to 2 hours

Why? How many sets are you doing? I do <10 sets a work out.

10? I prolly do like 7-8 for what i'm supposed to be workin that day (maybe more) then i do a coupel odds n ends.....usualy for somethin that didnt really get sore...or just abs....like I do back,chest, shoulders and biceps all in one day- I actualy do ab 10 sets....then i do tri's or abs if i'm bored

i dotn have much of a split- i do upper body n lower body on different days---i try not to work the same thing twice within a few days

i do liek 4 reps pre body part every other day.....I'm gna start doing a split tho......untilt he other dya i had never worked my legs n my chest n arms were actualy gettin big

legs .......i have worked the other stuff ther was supposed to be a space*

Originally Posted by stonev16

legs .......i have worked the other stuff ther was supposed to be a space*

There is an edit button at the bottom of your posts.

oh see....there is another reason u should be giving the advice n i should be receiving it

I'm just trying to help you out, I wasn't being arrogant or anything.

oh no i didnt meen mien liek that i thought i was funny i've ben on here so long n i didnt knwo ab the edit button

Oh, ok never mind then. My bad.

i didnt meen mien like snappy....u seem to knwo alot more ab weights then me n i honestly think u r better cut out for giving advice ab it....I wasnt bein sarcastic

lol its cool

lol at stonev's signature