New 2 the board and just wanted to say Hello 2 everyone b4 i start asking ?'s

Welcome to the BEST boards on the Net for information that will HELP you attain your fitness goals!! There is none better. So fire away when you are ready for your q's. Take care!

Thank You...I'm new to weight training and pretty much inquistive to things i want to know. I just started about a month ago..i am 37..6'2..207..the body fat is one of my ?'s how do you take that info.

Hey 37novice, Welcome to the board. A great place for you to get a start. I would start at a local gym or health club for a B.F. test. Great idea, to get a starting point for you. Make sure you try to go back to the same person to do the caliper test. And strive for progression not perfection. Good luck!

also take some pics NOW. I have them going back to the first day I committed to start this journey, and not only is it pretty darn funny it shows me how far Ive come over that time. Plus month to month they will let you know if you are making progress or not.

If you use for progress purposes month to month use same light, same time of day and no flash usaully works best.

Now I cant help myself, you should know DIET IS NUMBER 1, if that isnt right all the lifting in the world will do very LITTLE.

Good Luck to you and Welcome!

Thanks 4 the helpful TIPS AND MOTIVATION..now the guy that runs the gym says that with the workout plan that he has will in a couple of months show my genetic make-up..i hope i'm explaining this right..i have always been tall and slim and never gained weight anywhere but in my stomach area..he says that what he's trying to do is something like a reverse method..saying that instead of taking in protein..i'm gonna use what i have stored already to see where it fills out to..he says that things are going to change far as my workouts now in a few weeks..if u guys can decipher what i'm trying to say...plz give me your opions..and also give me input..MY EARS R FLAPPING FOR INFO

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says that what he's trying to do is something like a reverse method..saying that instead of taking in protein..i'm gonna use what i have stored already to see where it fills out to

Um I hope you are misquoting him. So let me get this straight rather than feed the machine NOW he is gonna let you lift so he can later tell you you are an ectomorph which I can alraedy tell you based on what you have explained. A pic would confirm that. As well as the answer to this question, as a kid were you slight and skinny, shopping in hefty section, or broad shouldered and naturally muscular???

I REALLY dont get his approach. Id start you on a good diet now.

Yeah. I am pretty confidant when I say that your trainer or gym owner is absolutely WRONG about this one. Nobody ever furthered themselves by going backwards... its simple physics. But more importantly, like J said, you have GOT to be feeding that ectomorphic machine if you plan on getting ANYWHERE regarding lean mass gain and BF drops.

You have the kind of metabolism that guys like me DREAM about!! How much food can I ingest today, lets make that a challenge? I WOULD LOVE THAT CHALLENGE! Anyways, you need a solid meal plan NOW and start lifting heavy NOW. Don't use your own bodyfat for fuel??? That doesn't make any sense at this point in your start-up. Eventually you will shift your body's engine's to burn fat more accordingly and as a better source anyways for energy. Why do that now when you are already at a muscular minimum??

Sounds like an amazing way to go catabolic to me.... You need quality calories NOW and PLENTY of them.

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Um I hope you are misquoting him.

I think it is a misquote...at least I would hope so. It sounded like "reverse method" was a figure of speech, meaning that the gain will be around the body, not the belly. I don't know where the protein enters the picture, except, "IN MY BELLY!!"

Being slim to slender, I would make sure the calories would be coming from higher carbs because you would need to be fueling the furnace, but a measure of protein in every meal. Grain and other carb sources have protein but most of the time, your intake is incomplete amino chain. Protein is not protein.

I say this because of the differences in amino acid profiles. For example, rice has protein and so do beans, but each is incomplete compared to what you would find in a whole egg. So when you combine rice and beans, you have the perfect amino profile.

You're going to need to figure where your minimum and maximum caloric intake is going to be. Max, meaning you're gaining too much fat over lean mass. You want to strive for a lean mass gain.

So what you guys are saying that basically from the word go i should have been on a good diet..and instead of starting off with light weights i should be going hard ?? Plz info

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and instead of starting off with light weights i

That is going to depend on your lifting experience. Light/Heavy is an individual variation and goes in conjuction with the type of workout schedule you're on.

Absolute beginners or if there's been a lay off from the weights for a long period of time, light is important. You can gain strength quickly, muscle can grow, but if your connective tissue hasn't caught up, you're doomed for injury. Connective tissue will take longer for strength gains and those injuries don't heal fast.

Beginner should lift for about 12 weeks doing 15 to 20 reps, gradually adding small amount of weight and adding sets. I usually start one off with 12 different exercises 3X per week, first 2 weeks is 1 set, next 3 weeks, 2 sets, then I remove two similar lifts and add another set so that it is 10 lifts, 3 sets each, 3X per week for the remainder of 12 weeks.

What stage of lifting experience are you?

heavy for YOU (not me or anyone else)

and

Yes why would you not be using a good diet from the get go.

Ive taken newbies and hit the road running, IF they are willing to put the time in.

I dont usually start them weighing food though, but I do have them take in carbs and protein 5 to 6 x per day with some essential fatty acids.

Then as they grow and get accustomed if they want to go to the next level Ill creat a more comprehensive diet where they may have to weigh out some meats etc.

Look I was a newb once and from day one I went heavy for me, and thats what I instruct too.

Ill see these PTs at the gym having their men press 10 lbs dumbells and the guy is like I feel stupid, well I would too.

Im not a PT and I realize people NEED to learn form, but dont use that as an excuse to not lift hard while there.

My perspective.

Jtheo,
That's exactly what he said to..about the 10 lb. weights...also added that it's about form and breathing first

Thanks Jtheo for the response...makes alot of sense in what you stated..and i guess you can't give away to much knowledge right off hand so that makes sense to..and to be honest there were 5 other co-workers that started out with me about 6 wks ago and now i'm the only one left..4 of 5 guys were like me never had any time in a weightroom and 1 did..he had them benching 225 from the word go..no warm-ups or nothing..they asked me to get into the rotation and i told them "when i see a parrot speak russian"...i did have enough sense to know that without training you just don't go trying to lift anything..also they were saying that with correctly lifting 65lbs that i'd get nowhere and all of them had good jokes about it..i'm going to stick with it though and GOD WILLING i can get on track with it...
THANKS 4 THE INFO
THAT GOES 2 EVERYONE

J, I don't know I might have to disagree a little on this one. I agree in that you need to go heavy at times, but in his situation I think he needs to build a base first. I've been a trainer for several years and just from experience people who are new to lifting just don't have the stamina to go really heavy for an entire workout. I'm not saying he needs to only lift 10lb dumbells, but if you can't make it through half the workout then it might be too heavy. If that makes sense. Also I believe that form should always be first. The last thing you need is someone new to lifting throwing around weight that is to heavy and end up hurting themselves.

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Originally posted by Jared Linton:
J, I don't know I might have to disagree a little on this one. I agree in that you need to go heavy at times, but in his situation I think he needs to build a base first. I've been a trainer for several years and just from experience people who are new to lifting just don't have the stamina to go really heavy for an entire workout. I'm not saying he needs to only lift 10lb dumbells, but if you can't make it through half the workout then it might be too heavy. If that makes sense. Also I believe that form should always be first. The last thing you need is someone new to lifting throwing around weight that is to heavy and end up hurting themselves.

Jared, we can agree to disagree, lol.

I agreed with finding form light first, but not workout after workout which is what I see.

Ive brough MANY newbs to this sport, one being my wife and after form was found in week 1, its time to add some weight, I never said REALLY heavy that was your word my man, I said heavy for him, and I might add at that point in time, heavy for him at that point in time. If that is 10 lbs thats fine....

Like I said its my opinion, I also think age matters but 37 is hardly old. Anyways....Im sure the PT manual says go light for some specific time etc.

I was not weened this way by my father who bodybuilt in the early 80s and neither were my friends or my wife.

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Jared, we can agree to disagree, lol.

I agreed with finding form light first, but not workout after workout which is what I see.

Ive brough MANY newbs to this sport, one being my wife and after form was found in week 1, its time to add some weight, I never said REALLY heavy that was your word my man, I said heavy for him, and I might add at that point in time, heavy for him at that point in time. If that is 10 lbs thats fine....

Like I said its my opinion, I also think age matters but 37 is hardly old. Anyways....Im sure the PT manual says go light for some specific time etc.

I was not weened this way by my father who bodybuilt in the early 80s and neither were my friends or my wife.

Ha I didn't know there was a PT manual, I guess I never read that one lol. Anyways I agree after form is found its time to add the weight. I think I just mis understood you when you said heavy from day 1. Also alot of times, unless they are serious athletes, people who are getting trained no nothing about working out. Its good to get them familar with diff movements then you can proceed to beat their ass lol..