Beginner here - Going to start bbing

Okay, I'm a complete novice when it comes to bodybuilding so I'll keep the questions to a minimum for now. Two weeks ago I decided I'd save up some money to join a gym and get in shape, however it's a lump sum payment for a year as opposed to paying monthly so It'll not be until this day next week that I'll be joining a gym properly. I've never been in a gym before and I knew nothing about bodybuilding which is what brought me to this place.

So I've read up loads of articles on the site and posts on this board for the past two weeks, while at first it was a bit overwhelming I think I finally know enough of the basics to make a post and avoid annoying anyone with repetitive questions.

Anyways this is a thread I'm going to use to track my progress over the next couple of months, sort of like a blog except I think it's better this way because I can just include any questions in here rather than make new topics for sake of it.

[u]Stats 30/1/2006[/u]

Here's the before stats (and my current stats for that matter):

Age: 17
Weight: 167lbs
Neck: 16"
Writsts: 7"
Chest: 37.8"
Eye Color: Only Joking
Arms: 13.3"
Waist: 32.2"
Thighs: 23.4"
Calves: 15.6"

Measured in cm originally, if you're wondering what's up with the decimals.

I have no clue what my BF % is, but having seen others on here and their pictures I'd guess around 12-18%. Bit of a range, but I really don't know so I've attached a couple pics, the quality is terrible, but maybe someone else could make a better estimate than me.

If I had to pick out any weakness I'd say everything, seeing as I want to improve everything but relatively speaking I'd say my chest, biceps and lower back are weakest, I'm going on strength wise here but aesthetically aswell I guess. From experience playing rugby I'd say I'm strongest in my shoulders and legs, even if the stats don't suggest it.

[U]Diet[/U]

I've always eaten crap. I would eat crisps (guess that's potato chips on here), chocolate, pizza etc on most days. I'd rarely eat fruit, chicken or turkey but usually ham or pork, I've always eaten potatoes or rice for dinner though. In the past two weeks I've cut down on all chocolate and crisps and I'm now eating mostly healthy foods. They might not be the most efficient for body building but atleast they're not polluting the system. I've eaten crap all my life so I'm gonna take it bit by bit. A typical day for me now would be:

Breakfast - 9am: Oatmeal, Toast

10:30 am: An apple

12:30 pm: Two bananas, an apple, two small oranges, two egg/ham sandwiches

3.30 pm: another apple

5:30 pm: Potatoes/rice with sausages and a side vegetable (beans, peas, sweet corn)

8.00 pm: peanut butter sandwich

10:30 am: A boiled egg / oatmeal


[U]Training:[/U]

For the first few weeks I'll probably learn how to use everything first. Focus on the machines I'm gonna use, practise with light weights to perfect form and then finally get into proper training.

I'm opting for a 3 day course, I took this off an article on the site and adapted it to when I can go to the gym:


[sets/reps]

[B]Monday[/B]

Back

Pull – ups [4/10]
Deadlift [4/10]
Ingle arm rows [4/10]

Triceps

Close grip bench press (CGBP) [2/10]
Dips [2/10]


[B]Tuesday[/B]

30 Minutes Cardio



[B]Wednesday[/B]

Chest

Incline DB press [4/10]
Flat BB press [4/10]
Decline DB press [4/10]

Biceps

BB curl [2/10]
Hammer curl [2/10]

[B]Thursday[/B]

30 Minutes Cardio


[B]Friday[/B]

Legs

Quads – Squats, Leg presses [4/10]
Hamstrings - Stiff legged deadlifts (SLDL's), Leg curl [4/10]
Calves - Standing calf raises [4/10]

Shoulders

BB military press [4/10]
Lateral raise [2/10]
Bent over rear delt raise. [2/10]

-----

So that's pretty much it, sorry about the longwinded introduction and for those of you who got bored I basically want to know where I stand currently (BF, stats, the pics), if my diet and schedule are alright for a beginner, and if I should go straight into bulking before losing any fat I have now and then doing a clean bulk.

Some states do not allow a place to make someone pay a year up front. Check the laws in your state to make sure that is even legal.

You have a good base. Looks like you have good genetics, naturally muscular. If you're looking to put on strength and muscle, be careful with so much cardio in one session. 20-30 minute sessions to start is adequate, otherwise it starts making it difficult to make gains. Once you start getting closer to your strength and muscular goals, then start bumping up the cardio, maybe 30-45 mins sessions with a slightly higher intensity. If you are going for 90 mins, you aren't pushing ourself hard enough for true cardio.

Point taken on the cardio, would half an hour on tuesday and half an hour on thursday be a better way to do it then? As for the gym, I'm from the uk (hence the crisps and the centimetres) so I'd assume it's different here. It's dirt cheap either way, it works out at about 10 pounds a month over a year which would be about 15 dollars I guess.

On Saturday I'll probably work on my abs, with a few sets of different crunches. Sunday will be my cheat day, can't miss steak and roast potatoes.

Oops, never even noticed you were from the UK. That would def be different then. As far as I know, it's only a US thing about the fees.

30 mins cardio sessions twice a week would be enough to get you started. Your gains are going to be really good the first year of training, so you can do alot more with far less work then someone with alot of training experience. This goes for the weight training too, so if you find that you aren't making good gains with your volume, you can def back it down a little. You could easily get away with 9 sets for large muscles and 6 sets for smaller.

[QUOTE=sixpacks]

Breakfast - 9am: Oatmeal, Toast

10:30 am: An apple

12:30 pm: Two bananas, an apple, two small oranges, two egg/ham sandwiches

3.30 pm: another apple

5:30 pm: Potatoes/rice with sausages and a side vegetable (beans, peas, sweet corn)

8.00 pm: peanut butter sandwich

10:30 am: A boiled egg / oatmeal

[/QUOTE]

You have almost no protein in your diet. Especially make sure to get some in for breakfast.

Right now I'm mainly focusing on cutting the crap out, I've no doubt once I start training my diet will change. I was going to get some whey, and take that at breakfast and after my workout. I can't stand the taste of tuna, so I think I'll take more chicken in a sandwich during my 2nd and 4th meals, with wholemeal bread of course.

[QUOTE=pezking]You have almost no protein in your diet. Especially make sure to get some in for breakfast.[/QUOTE]

do yourself a favour and bump the protein majorly, aiming for 30 grams at least per meal, especial in the morning, after working out and before bed. You can 'clean up' your diet whilst also adding protein, makes no sense NOT to do it. Eat lean meats and take protein powder if its easier for you.

[QUOTE=nick500]do yourself a favour and bump the protein majorly, aiming for 30 grams at least per meal, especial in the morning, after working out and before bed. You can 'clean up' your diet whilst also adding protein, makes no sense NOT to do it. Eat lean meats and take protein powder if its easier for you.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. 6 meals X 30g = good place to start. Weighing 167, 180g of protein should be good to start with. Also, I wouldn't worry to much about your bf%, it doesn't look that bad. I didn't try to figure out how many calories you're getting from those meal, but it looks like it may be a little low. Then again I know nothing about your metabolism or body type. Lifting hard and eating big is usually good.

Okay this is probably feasibile, I'll work out the actual protein cotent when I get all the stuff I need, but it should be more than 1g of protein per day.

Breakfast: 4 eggs, oatmeal, pint of milk & whey

10:30 am: chicken sandwiches

12:30 pm: Two bananas, an apple, two small oranges, two egg/ham sandwiches

3.30 pm: chicken sanwiches

5:30 pm: Protein shake

7.30 pm: rice/potatoes with chicken/turkey breast or fish

10:30 pm: Can of Tuna

Righty right, joined the gym today and had my first session. 15 months for 140 pounds, very cheap. I figured I'll just get a bit of an induction, I messed about doing what my friends were doing until finally I asked a member of staff to show me the basics of benching ,squatting and deadlifting. I did all three with an empty bar, think it weighed 25kb (55lbs) itself.

Benching, I went up in 5kgs, doing about 5 reps of each. Once I got past 70kgs I only did 2 reps, I stopped at 85kgs which was a real struggle but by this stage I was tiring so I decided to stop at 85, of which I only did 1 rep, which is 187lbs. I'm gonna set myself a goal of 100kgs, 220 lbs in a months time. After 85, I did 5*5 reps of 55.

My time was nearly up after that, but I wanted to try squats but I've got a problem, my lower back is pretty bad - ironically from a squat machine in the school. I did 130kgs (286 lbs) (on the machine) about 2 months ago (it's the highest weight on it) with little problem but my back was badly bent doing it and when it came to trying even a light weight with free weights I didn't have enough confidence, even with tiny amounts like 55kgs. I'd consider my quads to my strong point, and reckon I could do well over 300lbs but I just don't trust my back.

So I ask, does anyone else ever get reoccuring lower back problems, are there any exercises that can help strengthen or heal it? And should I lay off squatting and deadlifting until it's back to normal again?

hyperextensions will strengthen your lower back but i'd get a doctor to look at that and see if it needs proper physio.

Read the article I just posted by Matt Reynolds, then read the stickys