am i weak

[mustangdan]

im new here and i have a bunch of questions, so please bear with me. i am male, 5'8", 172lbs. i never really worked out before, but i just started getting serious in november. well, what should i be doing. as for a goal, i just want to be toned and stay lean looking. Like Marlon Brando in A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE. as far as weight, all i can put up is like 3 sets of 10 @110lbs. is that bad. am i weak? should i be able to do more? should i ? i dont want huge pecks, just the deffinition. i do want, however, larger arms. is there a particular exercize i should do other then like curls. and as far as curls go, i can only curl 25lbs per arm ( 3sets of 10). should i raise the weight and drop the reps.... ?

 

[Pizzer]

I wish I knew exactly where to point you to say do this... but the bad news is, such a thing doesnt exist. It takes time, patience, perserverance, experience, and discipline to get where you want to be. My best advice is to start out by reading a lot of the FAQ on the Training and Diet threads... stay away from the Anabolic threads... maybe check out the Supplements threads to get an idea of some good protein supps and vitamins and such. Whateever you do, stay away from the Anabolics (pro-horomones, pre-horomones, legal steroids, illegal steroids) threads. You are way too inexperienced (as am I) to even begin toying with those things without having a clear idea of your physical abilities, limits, and restrictions. As for your "Am I weak?" question... I wouldnt say you are weak. You are just not used to physically moving weight outside of your own body movements. Right now, dont focus so much on the amount of weight (lbs) you can exercise with, but rather focus on your FORM. Form is the most important part for body building when first startin out. Pay close attention to what your body responds well to and when it responds negatively. Lastly, use some of the info on the IMF to develop a strong routine that will help you to establish your realistic goals. Determine what you will be doing on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc... and also be mindful of you daily schedule and your diet. Good luck!!

 

[Doublebase]

Like this?

start with reading the stickies.

 

[mustangdan]

thanx!

 

[fufu]

start training your whole body.
squats, bench press, rows, deadlifts, etc.
Training your whole body puts you in a more anabolic state than just training certain parts. As far as getting defined, that is mostly up to your diet.

 

[mustangdan]

Like this?

start with reading the stickies.

yeah, just like that. im not real big.and im fairly thin, just a little flab over my stomach. pants, 32x30. shirt, medium. so i think that is an ideal look for me. stickies? ok ill take a look.

 

[P-funk]

I'd rather look like Marlon Brando in The Island of Dr. Monroe. I think his physique was at the top during that time in his career.

 

[mustangdan]

i just read th eone on how to get big arms in 3 steps. did i read it wrong or did it say to only work you biceps once a week? i thought mon, wed and fri arms and tues, thurs rest?

 

[P-funk]

i just read th eone on how to get big arms in 3 steps. did i read it wrong or did it say to only work you biceps once a week? i thought mon, wed and fri arms and tues, thurs rest?

which article was that?

Don't even worry about working arms. Worry about being able to lift good weight on your compound lifts (bench press, overhead press, rows, squats, deadlifts, etc..) and your arms will grow.

 

[GFR]

I'd rather look like Marlon Brando in The Island of Dr. Monroe. I think his physique was at the top during that time in his career.

True story

Here is BigDyl with Brando

 

[P-funk]

True story

Here is BigDryl with Brando

he really looks great there. I mean, awesome size and I bet he has some insane abs underneath that moo moo.

 

[mustangdan]

bhahahhahhbbhbahahah lol

 

[BigDyl]

 

[Thermal2]

weight means nothing, lift hard and with intensity. weight is just something you pick up to get huge and numbers to see your progression. you should never compare your weight to someone elses.

give it your best and hardest efforts. you will be guaranteed progress..

 

[Squaggleboggin]

weight means nothing, lift hard and with intensity. weight is just something you pick up to get huge and numbers to see your progression. you should never compare your weight to someone elses.

give it your best and hardest efforts. you will be guaranteed progress..

Exactly. Comparing yourself to others isn't really a valid comparison. There are too many different factors like experience, age, height, genetics, BW, BF%, etc. to form an accurate comparison. Do I think you're weak? No. Whether that really matters or not is up to you. As long as you think you can get stronger, you can. All you need is the right knowledge and to apply that knowledge. Many people will tell you experience is invaluable. It is. It is absolutely necessary for you to progress - if you don't know what works for you and what doesn't, how can you change something to produce favorable results? My suggestion is to keep a log so you always know what you've done before and whether you're progressing. Plan your workouts ahead of time and at least have a plan of what kind of periodization you will use (this isn't as important in the very beginning, but start reading up on conjugate, undulating and linear periodization for starters). Give each of the things you read a try so long as they're reasonably safe and seemingly productive towards your results. If you have a question, post it here or PM someone. Most people will be glad to help. Also search the forums and read the stickies - so much information is already right here it's insane.

Good luck.

 

[myCATpowerlifts]

Exactly. Comparing yourself to others isn't really a valid comparison. There are too many different factors like experience, age, height, genetics, BW, BF%, etc. to form an accurate comparison. Do I think you're weak? No. Whether that really matters or not is up to you. As long as you think you can get stronger, you can. All you need is the right knowledge and to apply that knowledge. Many people will tell you experience is invaluable. It is. It is absolutely necessary for you to progress - if you don't know what works for you and what doesn't, how can you change something to produce favorable results? My suggestion is to keep a log so you always know what you've done before and whether you're progressing. Plan your workouts ahead of time and at least have a plan of what kind of periodization you will use (this isn't as important in the very beginning, but start reading up on conjugate, undulating and linear periodization for starters). Give each of the things you read a try so long as they're reasonably safe and seemingly productive towards your results. If you have a question, post it here or PM someone. Most people will be glad to help. Also search the forums and read the stickies - so much information is already right here it's insane.

Good luck.

Great post! Couldn't agree more on every point.

 

[Hockeyman105]

Dude-

It's great you want to get into working out. Don't calculate bodyfat and all that crap unless you're an athlete, but you still want to be at a fairly low BF%. Try incorporating some biking or running into your program, and some bodyweight exercises. You can't lift weights unless you can lift your own bodyweight, so try some pushups (flat, w/ feet on a bench and hands on ground, and w/ feet on ground and hands on bench) and some pullups, both close and wide grip. Crunches are great too.

Also, don't do too much because you don't want to hurt yourself. Maybe get a personal trainer, or a buddy who's in good shape who can guide you to the right things for your body.

Lastly, pick up a sport, like tennis, basketball, soccer, whatever. It's good to play sports to stay flexible and all that. By the way, stretch at the end of your routine.

Good luck man.

 

[Squaggleboggin]

Great post! Couldn't agree more on every point.

Thanks!

Dude-

It's great you want to get into working out. Don't calculate bodyfat and all that crap unless you're an athlete, but you still want to be at a fairly low BF%. Try incorporating some biking or running into your program, and some bodyweight exercises. You can't lift weights unless you can lift your own bodyweight, so try some pushups (flat, w/ feet on a bench and hands on ground, and w/ feet on ground and hands on bench) and some pullups, both close and wide grip. Crunches are great too.

Also, don't do too much because you don't want to hurt yourself. Maybe get a personal trainer, or a buddy who's in good shape who can guide you to the right things for your body.

Lastly, pick up a sport, like tennis, basketball, soccer, whatever. It's good to play sports to stay flexible and all that. By the way, stretch at the end of your routine.

Good luck man.

I disagree that you can't lift weights until you can lift your own BW. I believe I could deadlift about 400 pounds before I could do a single chin up or pull up. I'm not saying they're bad exercises. They're not. I use them several times a week in my routine. I just think that there are other things one can do to increase strength while working on doing BW exercises. If you can't do a pull up or chin up, do the negative portion of the lift as slowly as possible for several reps each exercise you plan to do them during when you can. Push ups are, IMO, marginal as far as results go. You'll see slight strength increases at first, but after a while they'll only build endurance because the only form of added resistance typically used is higher repetitions. This is not optimal for strength or hypertrophy.

As far as not doing too much yourself, I agree with this only to a point. I've never received instruction on how to do anything lifting-related in person. I've done a crap load of research online, studied videos of lifts and memorized them to complete the form, and come up with my own routines and unique periodization scheme that works for me. Not everyone is willing to put this much time into it, but it definitely can be done - very slowly - by oneself.

I honestly am dedicated enough that I won't play sports; I don't want them to interfere with my workouts. That's just me though. Most people just do this on the side or as a way to lose weight or start a healthier lifestyle.

 

[myCATpowerlifts]

I quit sports/athletics after middle school becuase I was tired of doing bench and squat 5 days a week at 70% intensity...

I feel like I've done pretty good.

 

[ABLQ2]

weakness is a state of mind.

 

[Squaggleboggin]

weakness is a state of mind.

That's quotable.

 

[CowPimp]

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=53106