What is difference between novice and Intermediate

[ilcrba]

When people get on here asking for workout programs alot of the times they are redirected to SS because it is for beginners. What makes one a beginner? Is it the knowledge they lack about this sport or is it that they dont know proper form and need to master form first? Or is it the amount of time they have been working out prior? Thanks

[Engineer_Guy]

When people get on here asking for workout programs alot of the times they are redirected to SS because it is for beginners. What makes one a beginner? Is it the knowledge they lack about this sport or is it that they dont know proper form and need to master form first? Or is it the amount of time they have been working out prior? Thanks

A novice is someone who is capable of making progress from workout to workout. In other words they can add weight to the bar just about every workout.

An intermediate is someone who can no longer make progress every workout. This is when it becomes optimal to start making weekly progress instead. So now weight on the bar increases every week instead of every workout.

Generally a novice workout involves lifting heavy three times a week. An intermediate program start to involve more volume and intensity specific training.

[ilcrba]

OK thank you very much

[gerryh777]

Generally speaking you move from being a novice to an intermediate when you are able to bench more than you weight and squat about twice your weight. If you are 200lbs, have been lifting for, say, five years but you can only bench 135lbs, you are still a beginner. Lifting for that amount of time with very little strength gains means you followed a bad program and therefore you are still a beginner. That is just an example.

You are an intermediate when you are not making linear gains anymore...or at least not as easy. Then you need to change your routine in order to break the plateau and continue to grow (at a slower rate).

[Engineer_Guy]

Generally speaking you move from being a novice to an intermediate when you are able to bench more than you weight and squat about twice your weight. If you are 200lbs, have been lifting for, say, five years but you can only press 135lbs, you are still a beginner. Lifting for that amount of time with very little strength gains means you followed a bad program and therefore you are still a beginner. That is just an example.

You are an intermediate when you are not making linear gains anymore...or at least not as easy. Then you need to change your routine in order to break the plateau and continue to grow (at a slower rate).

Actually it's more generally bench your weight, squat 1.5x your weight, and deadlift 2x your weight.

But I don't like following those guidelines because everyone has different potentials.

[gerryh777]

One more thing...

You will see a lot of workout plans that call for one muscle group per week, or splits like
Monday-Chest/Tri, Tue-Back/Bi, Wed-Rest, Thu-Legs, etc... Those are good programs for intermediate to advance lifters but not for beginners. I hear you asking why. Here is one of the answers: recovery. Somebody that is already very strong can work a muscle pretty hard to the point that this muscle will need one week to recover. If you are a beginner and not very strong there is no way you can work a muscle to the point where it needs a week to recover. So by following one of those programs you will not be making much progress. That is why beginner routines revolve around getting strong, three full body workouts a week, compound moves, etc...

[jgreystoke]

When people get on here asking for workout programs alot of the times they are redirected to SS because it is for beginners. What makes one a beginner? Is it the knowledge they lack about this sport or is it that they dont know proper form and need to master form first? Or is it the amount of time they have been working out prior? Thanks

An intermediate can't gain on a simple program like SS any more, because he is too strong to add say 5lbs to his squat every session. A friend of mine has been training for two hours a session, four times a week..........for the last twenty years. He is still a novice.

See my sig:

[Engineer_Guy]

An intermediate can't gain on a simple program like SS any more, because he is too strong to add say 5lbs to his squat every session. A friend of mine has been training for two hours a session, four times a week..........for the last twenty years. He is still a novice.

See my sig:

It's not really the adding weight that's a problem. You can add 1lb a session and still train as a novice. It's more of a matter of recovery for the intermediate trainee. They can't recover from a 3x5 three times a week going for PR's every time. The intermediate can still add 5lbs to the bar but it is done once a week instead of three times a week.

[jgreystoke]

It's not really the adding weight that's a problem. You can add 1lb a session and still train as a novice. It's more of a matter of recovery for the intermediate trainee. They can't recover from a 3x5 three times a week going for PR's every time. The intermediate can still add 5lbs to the bar but it is done once a week instead of three times a week.

That's true.

[gerryh777]

A friend of mine has been training for two hours a session, four times a week..........for the last twenty years. He is still a novice.

Hahahaha!

[ilcrba]

I have more questions regarding this topic. Instead of making new post ill just add here. A novice is someone who can add weight each time they go to the gym. Well what if they stall out at say 145 on bench and 195 on squat? And they are 5'7" 140lbs. Does that mean they become a intermediate? Or is it because they are not eating enough?

Now lets say they are eating enough and they still stall out. But they stall out at the weights given for intermediate here....

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLi...Standards.html

Would this make them a intermediate? They are still 5'7" 140lbs. But they are lifting at the intermediate weights given at that site. Would it be time to start up something other then a novice workout?