beginner starting out looking to gain mass/size

[astral37]

Hi,

I am 18 years old and just getting started with weight training. I am pretty small - 5'8 and 135lbs. My goals are to gain weight and gain muscle mass and size.

I think my diet is pretty good right now. I have been eating healthy and have been gaining 2-4lbs a week for the past 2 weeks. I try to have 3 good meals since that is all my schedule really allows me to have, but I also try to eat a lot of healthy snacks between meals and drink lots of water.

I have been browsing this and other forums and web sites, and now that I'm starting on my own program I am looking for some advice as to what exactly sort of work out routine I should concentrate for.

From what I have read, it seems I should go for a 3 day a week routine, every other day, with a little bit of cardio thrown into the mix. Which exact exercises should I do, how many reps, etc? I have heard I should probably do a full body work out each time instead of splitting up different muscle groups to different days as that seems to be for people who are a bit more advanced.

Any help or advice you could provide me with would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

james

 

[Arnold]

Stick with basic compound exercises: squats, rows, bench press, deadlifts, etc.
Keep things simple and build a foundation.

 

[astral37]

thanks

thanks, thats sort of what i'm doing now. i've just read so many different things it gets confusing and makes me think i'm not doing enough or the right thing, but i'll keep it simple like you said for now. thanks agian

 

[Comedown7]

Astral37 -

Its great to hear of your interest in all of this. Stick with it, I'm sure you'll get to where you want to be.

Here are some sites that I think will really help you:

www.testosterone.net
www.kingsports.net
www.getbuffed.net
www.netrition.com
www.johnberardi.com

My best advice is read everything you can. Never stop learning and never believe that you can't learn something from someone else (although be weary of those personal trainers in the gym who are littler than you are). Just remember, this is a feild that is constantly changing, and what is best for someone isn't necessarly best for you.

Some tips:
You're young. Your body can take an aditional day of training during the week. Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday are common days that many use.
Learn to love leg training. When you become more advanced it will be what seperates you from the rest. Also - the ammount of growth hormone your body releases while you train your legs will stimulate growth in even your upper body.
Form is everything!


Best of luck to you!

 

[astral37]

thanks!

thanks so much for the encouragement and links! so far I have just been doing the machines (we have cybex in our gym) since i dont have a training partner and am not sure if i should try free weights yet. what do you think? i've been trying to keep my form pretty good even thou it keeps me using pretty light weights for now. thanks again

james