Posted: 6/14/2008 11:38:01 AM EDT
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I'm curretnly 26, but I've never really done weight lifting except for 1/4 a semester in High School gym class. This year I've decided to start lifting regularly but my 2 biggest concerns are A) I don't know how often to change exercises, and B) I don't know enough excercises to be able to tell what I need to do and when I need to do it. I heard about muscle adaptation and I'm wondering how often should I be chaning my routine to prevent my muscles from adapting? Is it the kind of thing I need to change every month? every week? Any suggestions on where to go to learn more about lifting in general? I picked up Arnold's bodybuilding encyclopedia because it was $5 at a used book store, but it seems to be more for people who want to build muscle for competition. My main goals are to get stronger, and lose fat, not necessarily to look huge. |
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I suggest picking up a copy of Starting Strength by Rippetoe. It sounds like just what you need. There's a sticky here if you want to get the gist of it. ETA: As for adaptation, I wouldn't worry about it for maybe 6 months or more if you're new. By then, you will be able to spot it and make changes accordingly. |
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Arnold's book is a good source of information, and where you are, Inherited's post about Ripptoe's program is a great start. Frankly, it cracks me up a bit when people first start lifting and say they don't want to get huge. It is like a kid at McDonalds turning down overtime becuase he is afraid he will become a millionaire. You are going to have to fight and sweat for every single pound of muscle you add to your frame, and you will have to add 10 pounds before anyone but you notices. On that note, don't get too concerned with which program you are using or are you hitting this or that muscle with this or that exersize or which set/rep scheme you are doing. Find a good program (Ripptoe's looks good), be dedicated and lift hard. Nichcon's rule for lifting... effort x consistency x time = results |
About the only good information in that book is about Arnold's body building history. Everything else blows. Here's another vote for Starting Strength. Buy the book, read it 4 times and use that lifting split for several years. Nothing beats compound lifts. |
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Take a realllllly long look at a few different HIT programs they work amazingly well. There are a thousand different HIT programs these days. Research a bunch and start experimenting to find what works best for you. As a noob i would go 1 rep less than absolute failure for the first month or so. Here's a snip of BigA's(IFBB pro) no bullshit article over at Proffessionalmuscle.com The workout may not work for you but it is a great starting point. And always remember your biggest strength and muscle gains will come from diet not the gym. Why bother going 100% in the gym if you don't give your body 100% chance to recover?
Also if you feel you need to switch up to keep your body guessing switch incline press with flat ect... |
Another vote for Starting Strength. I haven't read arnold's book, but in any case, a regimen for a professional bodybuilder is going to be vastly different than for someone at your level. As to how often to change things up, it is pretty simple for you, I believe - I'd say continue to do the Starting Strength program until it stops working. More info is in the forum sticky on when to reset the program and about how many resets to go through before it is time to move onto something else. Still classifying myself in the Beginner/Intermediate stage, I'll echo the comments above about "getting huge". Believe me that you aren't going to wake up one day after lifting "heavy" (relative to your current strength) and wake up jacked. |
Adaptation is overrated. Don't worry about it for a while if you are a new lifter. At some point you will reach a plateau but not any time soon. On the other hand, if you get bored easily, try to vary your routine a little now and then. Just remember that the best gauge of progress is by comparing past performance on the same lift. Keep a notebook so you can remember what weights you used and track your progress. It's great motivation. Anabolic Minds is a great training/bodybuilding forum. There's a lot of very knowledgeable people over there. Join and ask questions, but browse and run some searches first. Over there, like here, people get a little touchy when people ask without searching first. You will probably want to start with the Training Forum. There is also great info about nutrition (which is key) and supplementation (which can help) over there. |
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+1 Rippetoe. Don't let anyone bullshit you. If you wanna be big you got to be strong, they go hand in hand. Ronnie Coleman can deadlift 800 lbs, all those huge guys can put up awesome numbers on the bench, deadlift, and squat. You can't get big without being strong, you cant damage your muscles enough to get that growth without it. The core program in Starting Strenght will get you strong and if you eat right pack on mass. Once you get some strenght then move to the more exotic bodybuilding programs. |
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As far as changing your basic exercises... I dont ever do that. I do not belive you need to. You need exercises that hit every muscle group and to arrange them so you have time for recovery. I dont believe in lifting for strenght or lifting for hypertrophy... I just lift. I get bigger and stronger. It is neither a hypertrophy based or strength based program. It gets me the most out of my time and helps both equally. My lifting routine is: Mon: Chest/Bi Wed: Legs Fri: Shoulders/Back Mon: Flat bench, Standing Curls, Incline press, Preacher Curls, Flys, Concentration curls, burnout of dips to failure followed by pushups to failure Wed: Squats, Leg extensions to failure, Leg curls, Stainding calf raises Fri: Overhead shoulder press, Rows, latteral raises, wide grip chins, some rear delt exercise This never changes and I dont really plateau. I do abs as often as I can. I might change the flat bench from DB to barbell but its always that exercise in that order. I set up the exercises to allow maximum recovery by working alternating muscle groups and resting the opposing muscle group each exercise and not hitting a bicep or tricep workout without at least 2 days of recovery on that muscle as it again limits your strength... this allows me to lift heavier on every exercsie. I do 3 sets to failure of each exercise. I never do more than 10 reps of anything or I increase the weight. I do leg extensions after squats because I eventually max out any machine and do more than 10 reps with all the weight even when its right after heavy squats. Things I almost never do: Deadlifts, Triceps, Seated calf raises. These dont really do anything for me but cause injury and reduce recovery if done more than every once in a great while. They might get done once every month or two. Whne most people who are beginers follow me and do my workout the common comment is "thats it?" They dont feel like that for very long if they truely lift to failure every day they lift on every exercsie excercise for every set. Noone does my workout and nooone will agree with it on any forum you might encounter. I did win the get in shape contest we had with it though. |
You never change anything, you go to failure on every set for every workout, you go heavier on every lift every workout and you've never stalled? I'd be interested to know how long you've been on this world record pace. |
Since nobody asked...what are your goals? Size, Strength, Performance, BB, etc. Westside for Skinny Bastards by Joe Defranco is one of the most proven all around routines out there regardless of your current weight, BMI, and experience. It is posted for free over at Dave Tates site. Here is a link WSFSB There is so much free crap out there so search and read. Also T-Nationhas some great articles. |
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