Exercise Noob

[Jack Sparrow]

Hey guys I need help coming up with a proper plan.

First of all, I am 5'9 and my weight is about 122 pounds and at 14% body fat.

My goals are simple, and like a lot of people, I want to have that model like build/Brad Pitt fight club, V shape, blah blah blah... I want to be ripped, and lean, not huge. With that said, how does 160 pounds sound? I'm not tall, so I'm thinking 160 (Maybe 170 if I think 160 is too small once I reach that goal, we'll see as I progress...) is the ideal weight for the build I am looking for. Remember, I don't want to be big. Also, I will be using a Bowflex (Yeah free weights are better), and I think using a Bowflex is fine for the goals I'm looking for.

I've never lifted weights in my life, or at least nothing consistent. I have no muscle tone what-so-ever so I'm pretty soft. I also want to be around 9% body fat. I am completely prepared to dedicate myself to get my goals, and I'll do whatever it takes to achieve and maintain my goal. I'm already eating "alright" anyway, use to not eating junk. (I basically eat a ton of meat and veges... barely any starchy carbs.

Ok with all of that being said, can someone help me come up with a decent exercise routine? Also, should I just focus on bulking, and worry about cutting later? Do I even need to focus on cutting? Will lifting weights (And diet) just naturally drop my body fat down to where I want it? Either way I don't mind doing cardio, but just making sure.

I have a specific question about forearms. Are hand grips the only way to develop them or are there better methods?

One last question. Being the noob that I am, I don't really know much about supplements. Anything you guys can recommend to me so I can buy it at GNC? I was thinking about getting some protein pudding to eat, is that any good? Protein shakes? How about stuff like Xyience? I am willing to do anything and everything I can to achieve my goals, so don't hold back and recommend anything that will help me. Believe it or not, I've been waiting a long time to start lifting weights, and for reasons that I won't disclose on this forum I "couldn't" until now. Also, I'm 22 if you need to know my age.

I don't have any real questions on nutrition since I will be seeing a nutritionist, but feel free to say whatever on nutrition.

TIME TO GO BALLS TO THE WALLS! :woo: :rockon:

 

[Gus]

Since you don't have much muscle, there's really no reason to cut yet so I'd go with bulking. Because you've never worked out before you probably ought to take a couple months and develop a solid base before really pushing yourself hard or you could hurt yourself. I'd go with real basic compound stuff: squats, benchpress, pullups, chinups, dips, deadlifts, etc. Just those six will produce fantastic results.

For forearms...don't even worry about it. Do deadlifts without straps and your forearms will explode. A lot of other exercises work your forearms too. Later on if you want to exercise your forearms, look into hammer curls, wrist curls, and reverse curls.

As for supplements, just go with protein and creatine for now. I recommend a protein shake like Myoplex, and just drop in a scoop or two of tasteless creatine. Tuna and chicken are also excellent sources of protein. Eat at least your body weight in grams of protein per day (122 g / day). Preferrably more. You'll need a little more carbs too, so you might want to start eating some bread and/or pasta (just don't go overboard).

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Thank you for posting and helping me out. I looked at some sites and I came up with a plan. Please tell me what you think.

Mondays:
Chest - Bench Press
Arms - Cable Preacher Curls (Biceps, and works out forearm to) and Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension,



Tuesday:

Rest

Wednesday:

Back/Shoulders - Bent Over Low-Pulley Side Lateral (Delts), Cable Shrugs (traps), Underhand cable pulldowns (Lats).
One arm dumbbell row (middle back)


Thursday:

Rest

Friday:

Legs - Lying Leg Curls (Hamstring), Legs Extensions (Quads), Squats (everything), and Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise.

Weekend:

More rest, and some crunches for the abs.


I'll throw in some chin ups once I can actually lift my body weight..lol.

All of this would be 8 reps in sets of 2? Should it be more or less?

Is this a good plan for me? Is it too much? Too Little?

I'll take your advice and do some cardio 2 - 3 months from now. I will concentrate on gaining some muscles for now.

As for supplements I'll take multivitamins (Which I'm taking now), Creatine, and Glutamine.

Is there anything I'm missing that I should be aware of?

Thanks guys!

 

[Jack Sparrow]

One last question, should the workout be a bit more spread out thereby having less days of rest?

I would like to do this right, so any input is appreciated.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Nevermind everyone. I did some more research, and looked at countless other workout plans. I'm fine now.

Thank you again derEikopf for the advice.

 

[Gus]

IMO that's way too much isolation. One-armed rows, preacher curls, leg curls, leg extensions, etc. are really not necessary and are generally a waste of time and energy. A good general rule is to stay away from machines and cables (though cables are sometimes useful) and try to use barbells as much as possible. I'd also do arms after all the rest of the upper body stuff...having sore bis and tris can really hamper back and chest workouts.

Here's my take on the workout:

Chest is fine. You might want to throw in an incline or decline bench press if there's a certain part of your pecs you want to change (incline works more of your upper pec/shoulder area, decline works the lower part of the pecs). It is crucial that your triceps are fresh for your chest workout. Stay away from crossover cables, your energy is much better spent elsewhere.

Arms need some work: preacher curls are a waste. Too much isolation. Go with regular barbell curls and throw enough on there so that you really have to struggle with the last set. Stay away from "isolation" exercises like preacher curls, concentration curls, etc. Barbell curls, dumbell curls, and hammer curls are the best.

For tris, overhead extensions are okay, but dips are a LOT more effective. If your body weight is not enough, hold a dumbell in between your feet...your tris will explode (it also works your lower chest, so factor that in to your regimen). Stay away from anything one-handed.

For back, what you have is basically a waste of time. Deadlifts are an absolute must; your entire back will see enormous gains from deadlifts, and even your traps, arms, and legs. Pulldowns and seated rows are also good exercises for the upper back. Overhanded pulldowns are a lot more effective at hitting the lats than underhanded; underhanded transfers a lot of the work to your biceps, which is not really what you want. Replace the one-armed dumbell rows with seated rows; you'll hit your upper back a lot better when using both arms at the same time. Exercises to stay away from: behind-the-neck pulldowns (rotator cuff) and good-mornings (spine).

For shoulder size, military press is an absolute must. Barbell military press is the best, but some people have bad shoulders and can't handle that, so dumbell military press would suffice in that case. That hits your front and middle delts very hard. Don't drop the barbell behind your shoulders though or you can seriously mess up your rotator cuff. The posterior (rear) delts will be hit hard enough by cable rows, but if you don't think they are you can add a simple adjustment to the rows to focus on the posterior delts:

http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/DeltoidPosterior/CBRearDeltRow.gif

Barbell shrugs are best for traps, but may be unnecessary if you go hard and heavy on deadlifts. Exercises to stay away from: upright rows (bad on your rotator cuff and aren't that effective anyway) and behind-the-neck military press (VERY bad on the rotator cuff).

Legs...forget about the leg extensions and curls for a while. If you do squats right, that will absolutely devastate your legs, both quads and hams. Unfortunately, most people don't do them right. Get your feet a little bit more than shoulder width apart and point your toes ******d about 30 degrees or so (like this angle: \ /). Keep your back straight, stick your ass out, and squat until your thighs are just past parallel with the ground then bring it back up (don't lock your knees out at the top). If you're going for size, I'd do no more than 6 reps per set on squats, and do at least 4 sets. Try leg press (for quads), hamstring raise (http://www.exrx.net/AnimatedEx/Hamstrings/BBHamRaise.gif), or the straight-leg deadlift (hamstrings...keep the back straight too). You will barely be able to walk for days if you do your squats right though. For calves, just about anything will do, but dumbells may be a little cumbersome; I'm sure your gym has a standing calf raise machine which may be much more convenient. Exercises to stay away from: hack squats and full squats (they will both kill your knees).

Isolation is only useful if you want to get a slight pump and look cool in front of the mirror. If that's why you go to the gym, then ignore everything I just wrote.

Anyway, I hope I've been some help.