If u had ONE piece of advice for someone starting out lifting weights

[Ivan7x]

ur going to have relatively sh*tty results to what could have been if you focus on perfect form and full ROM all the time

gotta go heavy and naturally let dat dere form suffer a bit nom sayin' (a bit such as use of momentum or wobbliness or slight limiting of ROM, not injury style) .. obviously not squats and DLs which can fukk u up hard

true

but u can risk injury then u dun goofed

[US_Ranger]

go as fuking heavy as you can go always.

weight > form (to a degree)

push your limits every workout, one more rep.

stick to the same routine for at least a year

Get an active powerlifter to teach you correct squat form.

Then

Squat at least 3x per week.

Both of you need to NEVER, EVER, EVER give advice to anyone. Kthxbye

[DJCastano123]

This is advice I gave to every person I trained, because when I worked for a gym we had to ask "what has kept you from getting into the gym before or what their biggest concern is about the gym?"

99% of the people said, they didn't want to look stupid and didn't want people staring at them while they looked stupid.

This isn't just the people I trained, but a lot of people at the gym are so worried about what other people think or that people are looking at them while they lift.

So, I tell a lot of people, "don't care what other people around you are doing or thinking or if they're looking at you, just focus on you and your goals."

[US_Ranger]

ur going to have relatively sh*tty results to what could have been if you focus on perfect form and full ROM all the time

gotta go heavy and naturally let dat dere form suffer a bit nom sayin' (a bit such as use of momentum or wobbliness or slight limiting of ROM, not injury style) .. obviously not squats and DLs which can fukk u up hard

Negative. Improper form leads to injuries which leads to not being able to lift which leads to sh*tty results.

Stop posting.

[ANIMALISTIKZ]

do not feed into the temptation of creatine

[disbeast576]

I will always tell people, if you have any desire to body build then start out as a power lifter.

[Poak]

Like the others have said "nutrition > everything else"

Specifically from Justin over at 70sbig:

"There is an old business adage, “don’t dress for a job you have; dress for the job you want.” Apply this to your eating. If you want to be 215, you need to eat for 215, not for your 165 pound sprint-Tri doing self. You won’t get 70’s Big by pushing bird seed around your plate at your local hippy bistro. Start with 125-150% of what you’re eating now and see how that goes for a couple weeks."

[R1urdone]

Learn and do these:

1. Squat
2. Deadlift
3. Bench
4. Barbell Row
5. Military Press

[rockandrollaz]

go light with good form, don't worry about recovering (you're going light) go as much as possible, don't snap your chit up, diet

[rmwhite357]

Set you a goal and stick with it. Start off easy and work your way up so your body can adjust. Going hard just starting out can damage muscles and nerves. Eat a proper diet, make sure you rest, and don't over do it. In due time you will see if your persistent, how advanced you will become.

[bonkerzzz]

Sit down and do hours of real research. Find out what's broscience and what will actually help you improve. The powerlifting section will set you up with a decent beginners routine, the nutrition section has good stickies, etc.

[FatWhiteKid]

Form > Nutrition > Weight & Reps

[derekk1]

follow a proven beginner program (madcows) and stick with it for at least 1-2 years (srs)

do all the big 3 with proper form (record yourself every workout for a couple months and double check form/post it online for critiques)

bulk properly (dont be scared of gaining weight)

learn to love your workouts. the best advice in the world is useless if youre not excited to go to the gym. if you want big arms, do a proven program and throw in some extra sets for arms at the end (as long as you do all the prescribed reps in the program, it wont matter)

[Less Than 3]

keep perspective. exercising regularly and eating right everyday is a complete lifestyle change for most people. once you realize it is a marathon, not a sprint it will help you stay on track.

[puremb]

Don't miss a workout.

[hoopsbrah]

ur going to have relatively sh*tty results to what could have been if you focus on perfect form and full ROM all the time

gotta go heavy and naturally let dat dere form suffer a bit nom sayin' (a bit such as use of momentum or wobbliness or slight limiting of ROM, not injury style) .. obviously not squats and DLs which can fukk u up hard

actually agree with you there. sometimes cheating on form a little is necessary to break plateaus and get progessive overload. but only as long as youre not risking injury. and depends on the exercise. definitely dont try it for squats or deads.

EDIT: probably would not tell a beginner this though.

[Noah Stevens]

keep perspective. exercising regularly and eating right everyday is a complete lifestyle change for most people. once you realize it is a marathon, not a sprint it will help you stay on track.

This. Whenever anyone asks me what the "secret is" I always respond with, "make sure to come back again tomorrow."

[GermanBB]

Don't rush into hype workout styles or hype supplements.

Don't try to start out with a super strict nutrition regiment... you may burn out quick. It's a lifestyle, not heat of the moment thing.

That said, I can't wait to get a job so I can get back into a gym again. I'm starting to miss it bad.

[gordz09]

2 peices, that i wish i knew from the very beginning

- squat, deadlift and benchpress from the beginning (keeps me focused, a goal to reach)
- understand progressive overload, keep increasing the weights

[derekk1]

Both of you need to NEVER, EVER, EVER give advice to anyone. Kthxbye

their is nothing wrong with that second post. you should get an experienced powerlifter or olympic lifter to teach proper form. the average gym rat is going to teach you to overload the bar and do 1/4 squats.

also, squatting 3x per week or more is tried and proven to give amazing results (madcows, bill starrs 5x5, smolov, etc)


maybe youre to one who needs to NEVER, EVER, EVER give advice to anyone. kthxbye

[EphNashYaBoss]

training is so simple when you look at it in the bigger picture.. all though it takes time, its simplicity that over rules anything else
progressive overload with intense work = grow
simple.

instead of changing sets, reps, exercises e.t.c
stick with the same thing and progress in weight and reps which will increase in growth, for like 4-6 weeks then maybe change exercises

focus on compounds and eating to build base

[Iceberg56]

Learn the correct form before going heavy.
Give yourself enough time to recover.
Follow a proven beginners plan.
Make sure your diet is correct to maximize your goal

[PEETcassidy]

Cycle tren and test from the start.

[mingzie]

true

but u can risk injury then u dun goofed

Negative. Improper form leads to injuries which leads to not being able to lift which leads to sh*tty results.

Stop posting.

meh, there are some exercises u can and should cheat on and there are some u shouldn't.

90% of them you can without significant increased risk and can get much better gains

going heavy and consistently progressively overloading most of the time means ur form will break down slightly or ur ROM will be limited somewhat.. but i guarantee you will get significantly better gains in both strength and size. if you don't want to take the extra 1% risk on most exercises where almost NOONE has been injured on and miss out on gaynes, thats up to you. obv i ain't talking about OHP, squats, DL lol.

[TheChi]

A couple things, make sure to build a BALANCED physique by working opposing muscles. If you do 5 sets of chest, do 5 sets of back. Same thing with Quads and Hammies, otherwise you're putting yourself at risk of injury. Also focus on lowering the weights slowly, and exploding back up. The negatives are extremely important for muscle development.

[JOK3RR]

Nutrition, cover all rep ranges regularly (within reason) and mix it up. Also try and increase weight if you've been stuck on the same weight for a long period of time. Full ROM as well!

[Pbateman0]

Do not become obsessed with dieting where it interferes with other aspects of you're life. Have a cheat day, chill out once in a while and enjoy yourself.

[iQQx]

take your time! i've gone through 2 dirty bulks and it was horrible, i'm now 9 weeks into my cut and at ~12-13% bodyfat...losing significant size and strength is very demotivating...

300-350kcal surplus is all you need, don't overdo it...

[Bdool]

- consistency, consistency, consistency
- diet is EVERYTHING

[gethuge367]

take progress pics.

you see yourself in the mirror everyday, unless youre on creatine or extremely good at noticing very small changes, you wont notice yourself getting bigger. having gained 50 lbs since i started lifting, i still see myself as small as fuk, only when i look at old pics i realize im doing something right and this is worth it