I'm a 15 year old weakling deciding to start working out but no clue where to start.

[Sadian]

After getting back into badminton, I realised that I really need to strengthen myself up. I'm kind of a weakling and I really want to change this and start working out at the gym but I don't know where to start, to be honest. I want to lose my stomach and chest fat (I'm 5'7, 140ish lb) and gain a stronger upper chest and arms (not sure which part, but something good for swinging a racket).

These are the main parts but I also want to get built up more in general, not just for sports. To look good and attractive to girls--which I don't think I am with how my body is now.

I'm thinking of doing cardio every day while working on one body part one day, take a rest the next, work another on the next, take a rest, and work one more part on this day. I'm not sure about the rest periods but that's what I was always told. Work one body part a day and take a rest period between each days.

This means I would go thrice a day to work each body part and also do cardio every day (except weekends). Is this alright? And what body parts should I work on with what? I'm not sure what equipment the gym has.

Also, my backhand swings are quite weak. Does anyone know how I can improve this?

[Sadian]

I'd also like to add that my right arm is WAY bigger than my left. My left literally has nothing while my right is double its bicep + tricep size.

[Mavj96]

Carry things with left arm that you would with your right, workout evenly = symmetry.

[Sadian]

Carry things with left arm that you would with your right, workout evenly = symmetry.

I assume by workout evenly, you mean do the exact same workout for both sides of the body, right?

[Sadian]

Bump :/

[JDx3]

for a beginner i'd recommend a full body routine 3x a week.

[Kirra]

Starting Strength?

[emp1acur]

Good that you came here to ask for help.

You need to do some reading about beginner routines and nutrition. Please read the threads below:

Routines
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=115643271

Nutrition
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

3x full body routine is a good way to start.

[frenchy1994]

dont make the rookie mistake of just working arms and chest...work every muscle

good luck man and keep us updated!!

[rdferguson]

My recommendations:

Buy the books "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe, even if you don't do the program, as it'll go a long way towards teaching you how to lift properly. Either do the program in the book, or do All Pro's Simple Beginner's Routine (found in the stickies here). SS is a little more focused on raw strength, SBR is a little more focused on bodybuilding. Both will make your whole body grow if you eat appropriately.

Speaking of which, eat. You'll probably need 3,000kcal/day, or more. You'll need 1g protein/lb bodyweight/day. Eat meat, drink milk, eat nuts and eggs, eat lots of vegetables.

[yup123]

You don't have to be all that strong to play badminton. I'd reccommend doing all pro's" a simple beginners routine", it's a sticky. Starting strength is always good but not for a badminton player.

[Kirra]

Starting strength is always good but not for a badminton player.

Please enlighten us how a bodybuilding routine will be better than a strength routine for a badminton player.

[Lackeos]

Yeah, all of the advice posted is basically good, you could follow pretty much all of it. Yup123's post suggesting All Pro's over Starting Strength for badminton, I'm not sure if I agree with that. I think Starting Strength maximizes noob gains better overall, and while I don't think major strength is needed for badminton, I also don't think a program geared slightly more towards hypertrophy is exactly beneficial for badminton either. If badminton were a top priority, I'd probably do some better sport-specific training, but I think the poster's self-esteem will benefit more from just getting on Starting Strength and getting big / strong.

To strengthen your backhand swings, you mainly need back work like various rows (barbell rows, pendlay rows, etc.), with some tricep strengthening (every workout program contains decent tricep work), and some core rotation from your obliques and quadratus lumborum (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...s/CBTwist.html, http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...yingTwist.html, http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...BPushPull.html, http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...istingRow.html, http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...yingTwist.html, etc.)

To correct your smaller arm, you might do a little bit of extra dumbbell curls, tricep kickback or tricep extension, and possibly lateral raises if you think your left shoulder is smaller than your left. If you think your left lat is also smaller than your right lat, you could replace dumbbell curls with dumbbell rows. All with the left arm. Normally, correcting symmetry is more of a priority after a lifter gets big, but correcting it now is understandable since you basically play a one-armed sport that's messing you up. Barbell training is immensely preferable over all else, but if for some reason your gym only has dumbbells, make sure you work your left side first, and then do the exact same weight and reps with your right side, to promote symmetry.

[ie2left]

After getting back into badminton, I realised that I really need to strengthen myself up. I'm kind of a weakling and I really want to change this and start working out at the gym but I don't know where to start, to be honest. I want to lose my stomach and chest fat (I'm 5'7, 140ish lb) and gain a stronger upper chest and arms (not sure which part, but something good for swinging a racket).

These are the main parts but I also want to get built up more in general, not just for sports. To look good and attractive to girls--which I don't think I am with how my body is now.

I'm thinking of doing cardio every day while working on one body part one day, take a rest the next, work another on the next, take a rest, and work one more part on this day. I'm not sure about the rest periods but that's what I was always told. Work one body part a day and take a rest period between each days.

This means I would go thrice a day to work each body part and also do cardio every day (except weekends). Is this alright? And what body parts should I work on with what? I'm not sure what equipment the gym has.

Also, my backhand swings are quite weak. Does anyone know how I can improve this?

Starting Strenght is the perfect routine for you, don't let anybody tell you otherwise. You'll get much much stronger and bigger. The SS program is 3x wk so you can do cardio on your off days to cut down on fat. Don't do more than 10-15 minutes of cardio on your weight lifting days if you want. If you do more, you wont recover as much. Better, save cardio for your off days where you can do 30-45 minutes. Try not to run since it could be tough on your knees since you'll be sqating 3 x wk.

Since you're overweight, I'm guessing you eat a lot of junk food too. You'll need to cut on that and start eating whole foods (no chips/sodas/fast food). It's very important that you get 8hr of sleep to recover.

Just to let you know now, the girl thing is not all about your body, is about your personallity and confidence as well. Just be yourself and start talking. Good luck

[yeayead]

I say run, allot. Then work out you're left until it's comparable to you're right. For that you should just do bodybulding (weight training). Badmiton strength (how hard you can hit it) is all about weight behind the swing and the speed. So build that arm up till it's heavy with body building, while at the same time swinging you're racket allot trying to get faster.

Other than that don't eat any junk, all whole grains, avoid preservative ready to eat ****. Generally speaking if it's made for the microwave it's not made for you. Don't forget plants, you need vitamins so eat raw salads and what not.

You can't loose fat in specific areas, that's impossible. You have to loose it all over. For that you should run allot.

[WannaBeATank]

Dude, go to the teen section. Check out the Starting Strength sticky. See my sig? I've doubled all my lifts in under two months on SS.

[Sadian]

A lot of advice and I don't know where to begin! It's all quite confusing for someone like me who has no knowledge of it all. :/

But I've heard a lot about this Starting Strength book/program. Is this the right one?

amazon.com/Starting-Strength-2nd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0976805421

Sorry, couldn't post it as a link because I don't have enough posts. Also guys, would it be helpful if I posted a picture of my body?

Dude, go to the teen section. Check out the Starting Strength sticky. See my sig? I've doubled all my lifts in under two months on SS.

Oh wow, that's good! Is it this one? forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=131379243

[yup123]

Please enlighten us how a bodybuilding routine will be better than a strength routine for a badminton player.

I've done both and all pro's just seemed to improve endurance more then SS did.

I'm sure he'll do fine on either one but in badminton, endurance>strength.

Edit: OP, the swing is all in the wrist.

[Kirra]

I've done both and all pro's just seemed to improve endurance more then SS did.

I'm sure he'll do fine on either one but in badminton, endurance>strength.

Edit: OP, the swing is all in the wrist.

You're 150 lbs. Unless you started at 90lbs, you didn't do SS.

[Sadian]

I've done both and all pro's just seemed to improve endurance more then SS did.

I'm sure he'll do fine on either one but in badminton, endurance>strength.

Edit: OP, the swing is all in the wrist.

Hmmmm, is there anything I should do to improve the wrist or would it just gradually get better from playing badminton/working out without the need for any specific wrist strengthening exercises?

Also, while I agree to an extent, things like overhead shots and smashes are much easier with strength as well than just the swing of the wrist. I don't really understand why endurance is needed more than strength for badminton. I mean, isn't endurance more of a tennis thing?

[yup123]

You're 150 lbs. Unless you started at 90lbs, you didn't do SS.

I started SS at 120 while eating as much peanut butter and drinking as much milk as I could and ended it at 135.

I didn't enjoy it much so I stopped but plan on running it again sometime in the future.

[yup123]

Hmmmm, is there anything I should do to improve the wrist or would it just gradually get better from playing badminton/working out without the need for any specific wrist strengthening exercises?

Also, while I agree to an extent, things like overhead shots and smashes are much easier with strength as well than just the swing of the wrist. I don't really understand why endurance is needed more than strength for badminton. I mean, isn't endurance more of a tennis thing?

Do you play badminton much?

With all the drop shots, clears and smashes I find myself running a **** ton.

I think almost all racket sports require good endurance. Ever played squash?

As for playing badminton, just keep on playing.

Stick to compound movements while working out. Squats, chins/pullups, rows, bench press, deadlifts, dips. Deadlifts should hit your forearms enough.

[Sadian]

Do you play badminton much?

With all the drop shots, clears and smashes I find myself running a **** ton.

I think almost all racket sports require good endurance. Ever played squash?

As for playing badminton, just keep on playing.

Stick to compound movements while working out. Squats, chins/pullups, rows, bench press, deadlifts, dips. Deadlifts should hit your forearms enough.

I used to play 5 days a week and I've decided to get back into that and a lot of the time, I am pretty exhausted from running a lot. Is endurance the same as stamina?

[yup123]

I used to play 5 days a week and I've decided to get back into that and a lot of the time, I am pretty exhausted from running a lot. Is endurance the same as stamina?

Not sure but I think stamina is associated more with lungs/oxygen/running while endurance is more muscle specific.

[Sadian]

Not sure but I think stamina is associated more with lungs/oxygen/running while endurance is more muscle specific.

Hmmmm, in terms of badminton, I think it's more to do with stamina as it uses speed more than it does power. I'm not sure though, I'm not too knowledgeable on the subject. I usually deal more with being out of breath than with other problems when playing badminton.

[Sadian]

Up!

[Sadian]

By the way, does lifting weights reduce/stunt growth?

[yup123]

By the way, does lifting weights reduce/stunt growth?

no.