Help on Where to Start

[Botika]

Bump!

[megdaig]

Can't bump this one enough this week....

[tina722]

bump

[CathyVee]

Really should be a sticky. I know that there are some broken links in the original post that would need to be fixed so perhaps rockangel could do a re-write and maybe add this video.



How do mods decide when something should be stickied?

[Athenais]

Hi, I'm new. I am happy to have found a thread summarizing all the infos we have to understand.... but some of the links are not working (for me at least I tried many times but had 404 messages each time for exemple with link number 3 to calculate)...
So, could you please change that or put the actual name of the thread(s) like this I can research it on the forum?
Thanks!

Sorry if I'm asking for too much!
(By the way sorry but I'm not a native english speaker!)

[KCBiggs]

Definitely needs a bump, and how is this not stickied already?!?

[megdaig]

Definitely needs a bump, and how is this not stickied already?!?

I have no clue..and I always want to refer to it but I'm always on my phone app and it takes too much effort to find it and copy the darn link...

[Botika]

These are the updated links that were broken in the original post.


3.) Calculate your calories for that goal using

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703921


4.) Look for a good training program that is designed for your goals and level.

A good place to start

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

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=118004321



Also, I definitely recommend watching this video posted by CathyVee.

[Miranda]

bump

[LHarwood]

Bump

[DarkChylde86]

Brilliant!

Most definitely should be a sticky

[lmeverman]

Thank you so much for posting this, I have been putting a lot of time and research into workout programs and the correct caloric/macro's that my body needs. I am hoping to enter my first competition next year and there is so much to learn! Thank you again

[originalafro]

I'm so glad I've found this. I've been on here for a while but not really used it and its good to find inspiration and look at other people's stories.

Where I live thin is the goal rather than fitness so I'm glad that I have joined in order to progress further.

[Singe03]

Botika posted a link to this, so sorry to invade ladies:

My wife is starting to get interested in training so I'm walking that real fine line between pushing her and encouraging her. Sending her to this thread, and offering to teach her the core lifts myself or help her screen a PT the next time she brings it up. Thanks Rockangel and Botica, reps to both.

Lord I'd rather teach her myself if she is comfortable with it. Most PTs are probably going to try to put her on some pink dumbbell and bouncy ball routine, maybe I can find her a good one.

[pUniCepts]

[Size=5]These are the updated links that were broken in the original post. [/ size]

fixed the OP

[eiykaresta]

hi..
im new here.
just starting to do the workout but sadly i dont know how to start it..
anybody pls help me to give some opinion how can i start my workout
tks.

[Neiden]

Really useful, thanks!

[7714]

Nice information

[Botika]

Great posts on competing for the first time:

People may remember me from a while ago wanting to be a figure competitor. Well this past April I did my first bodybuilding show.

I was one of the people that assumed that you could lift a little weight, lose some weight and be ready to hit the stage in no time. I had NO CLUE what competition meant. But one thing I did know is that I didn't want to look like I didn't belong. I hired one coach and that didn't work out. I lost a whole bunch of weight but hated how I looked. I just looked skinny and bleh. I knew that was not how I wanted to step on stage. I did a lot of reading of the boards here and was seeing the same thing over and over again “Build a base”. So I decided to do a bulk, but I ended up putting on a ton of fat because again I was clueless and thought I could just stuff my face. I also decided I wanted to do more than quarter turns and changed my mind to do bodybuilding. I found my new coach and proudly proclaimed I wanted to do a show in like 4 months time while sitting at 32% bodyfat. He was nice and gentle about it but I suspect he was laughing inside thinking, “uhhhh...no”.

This was very important. I think a lot of people either won't or aren't tactful enough to tell people the truth about their goals. I know it's probably difficult because that's money they may lose, they want to get more money out of the person, or they don't want to dash someones dreams. But I've watched too many shows in person and online where people are on stage and you're embarrassed for them! I went into this with an open mind and knew I didn't want to be that person. So, I swallowed my pride and put off multiple shows because I had so much work to do.

One thing I've always done was lift very very heavy(relative to me), progressively, and intuitively. I'm a little OCD so I have many workout books that chronicle my progress. I like order, so I've always started with 8 reps for how many ever sets and then stayed at it until I could pump out 15-18 easily before moving up in weight. I also became very in-tuned to my body and relied a lot on bio-feedback. For instance I like to squat but I have a janky hip joint and while at the time it may not be bothering me, I can kinda tell if today is not a good day to squat even though nothing is currently wrong. The one time I went against this I hurt myself something bad and pulled a hip flexor (doing RDL). Same thing with the weight. If something in me is saying, “I know you did this last week but today is not the day.” or “Dooon't even try to lift that.” I tend to back off. Again the one time I ignored that I ended up with a 45lbs dumbell crashing towards my face and screaming for help.

Because I do have a small child my gym time is limited. I have about 45 minutes to an hour to spend. Depending on the times I can get her into the daycare there. So I have to focus and maximize my time in the gym. No socializing, no standing around admiring myself in the mirror. The only time I did that was when I practiced my posing. And I am in the gym 5 days a week.

Another thing that was and still is extremely important is that my new coach was not only a competitor himself but also had academics and scientific knowledge as a foundation. He also prepped other people. It wasn't just some random personal trainer at the gym. This person not only guided me nutritionally and physically but also taught the ins and out of posing and nuances that you probably wouldn't pick up from just a random trainer at the gym. And most of all they were flexible and worked with me, it wasn't a dictatorship.

But I also did my own learning. That was very important. I roamed a lot of message boards, read research papers, looked at instructional videos, watched educational videos, listened to podcast, read books on nutrition, bio-mechanics, biology, and so on. I actually find it all extremely fascinating. So when my coach was speaking to me I actually understood what they were talking about and could discuss. I also researched physiques, posing, and watched countless hours of shows. I think I was practicing posing before I even knew what show I was gonna settle down and do. I even knew HOW I wanted to do a posing routine. I didn't want to just do mandatories to music. I wanted to make it something beautiful.

Prep was prep. My coach likes to keep people fed so rather than starving. He gave me numbers and I was free to create my own meal plan using him as a second pair of eyes, so I had a lot of variety and mixed and matched things. I created deficits through energy expenditure. I've heard of women eating like 800 calories a day. I can't imagine. I did have to cut calories and I did get hungry but I wasn't starving. I did do cardio which was monitored. We started off slow and depending on progress made adjustments. I was able to lift a full capacity and even went up during prep literally until the last couple of weeks before, as my bodyfat got into the lower teens my energy levels started lowering. I got a good hand slapping from my coach for the dumbbell incident. When I first started prep, my body was like “WTH are you doing to me?!!” I think I was in a walking coma for a week. It was like pregnancy. At first your sick and feel like crap, then when things leveled out you feel great and then toward the end you start winding down again.

I carb cycled, I guess you could say, and timed my refeeds around leg day or back day and made use of that extra glycogen! It wasn't anything crazy. Really just carb ups. I was first doing them every two weeks then every week. And the night before my show after an eval to see if I was full or not I was able to go to Ihop. Ihop was my BFF during prep. I know the waitresses were baffled seeing this little thing put away these syrup drenched pancakes, waffles, and what not week after week. We also reached a certain point where the numbers didn't matter anymore, it was about how I was looking. So who know how low in Bodyfat% I actually was at towards the end.

But beyond that I listened to my coach and was honest with him. He had to talk me off the ledge sometime due to my OCDness during prep and post competition, but other than that its been a smooth ride.

Funny times when I was told not only did I need to tan a bit but I'd have to get spray tanned. I'm like. I'm already black. Lucky I listened because those stage lights will wash you out. And I'm pretty dark already.

The most important thing for me was stepping on stage looking the absolutely best I could. I had no idea who was going to be on stage with me. And even if I did look better then anyone on stage I wanted to impress. And I did. I won the womens novice, womens overall, got my pro-card and won best female poser. But the best part is that I got excellent feedback from the judges and people in the audience. People came up to me and told me I looked great, my proportions were great, my posing routine was beautiful. Judges only critique, which was obvious, was that since I was in the pro ranks(SNBF) now I needed to put on more size and get leaner(which I can do). This is also a testimony that you think you have all this muscle and then when you lose that nice layer of fat your like, “oh....that's it?”. So I have a lot of work to do for this off season.

I was also told it was obvious that I was training smart and to keep doing whatever I was doing. Sometimes being OCD can work for you. Haha.

Even though I may not have the same success next time I'll still do it giving 100%. A lot of it depends on who shows up on stage with you. You never know what you up against until you step on stage so its best to try to be your absolute best. If that means passing a show date for a later one. Do it! But all in all it was fun!

It was a wonderful experience with a wonderful org. Everyone was great. The girls I competed with were awesome. Backstage was so much fun. I can't wait to do it again.

Now into the off season. Again playing it by ear. Might do a show later in the year, maybe next year.

I also wanted to add that I absolutely be telling a different story if I had try to do this on my own. Having a coach was vital. It is my number 1 reccomendation. And also don't keep yourself blind. Because I did my own learning I was able to determine that I was working with someone I could trust. He also never pushed supplements on me or told me to do any weird training protocols. He also shared with me his experiences and mishaps and successes. And if I questioned something he respected me enough to explain and always gave me an option. I think people should spend the extra money on a coach, especially for their first time. I mean you spend money on suits, supps, food, why not?

Full thread: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=144670381

[charlottepeck]

Thanks for the info

[BombClancy]

Thank you everyone for putting this together!
1. I have two goals. One is reaching a particular yoga position & another being able to squat on a swiss ball.

2. This is great. I see people in the gym with paper & pen all the time. I keep it online for the most part but this could easily be one thing to improve on so I don't forget any details.

3. Is doing this every single day part of the body building deal? I count out my meal through out the week when I shop but I don't really stick to the BLT theory of tracking every bite/lick/taste every day.

4. These links are great! I have got quite a few ideas and learned just skimming them already.

5. Search function, check. Is it frowned upon in the community to necrobump something?

6. I mod a fitness community online, but find that google is a great resource. I hope that this forum will provide first hand experience that the other two may not.

7. I expect to get a bunch of info here this week, and hopefully will see some difference by October.

8. I have no idea what bulking is, that is one reason I joined this site :3 Thank you again for the links.

9. Cut?

10. Interesting. I just switched my routine I made up myself changing where my cardio is. I foresee me changing this again.

13. The topic of supplements were another area I had questions on! Once I understand that I have the diet area in check, I may ask more later.

[Newmewanted27]

Thank you everyone for putting this together!
1. I have two goals. One is reaching a particular yoga position & another being able to squat on a swiss ball.

2. This is great. I see people in the gym with paper & pen all the time. I keep it online for the most part but this could easily be one thing to improve on so I don't forget any details.

3. Is doing this every single day part of the body building deal? I count out my meal through out the week when I shop but I don't really stick to the BLT theory of tracking every bite/lick/taste every day.

4. These links are great! I have got quite a few ideas and learned just skimming them already.

5. Search function, check. Is it frowned upon in the community to necrobump something?

6. I mod a fitness community online, but find that google is a great resource. I hope that this forum will provide first hand experience that the other two may not.

7. I expect to get a bunch of info here this week, and hopefully will see some difference by October.

8. I have no idea what bulking is, that is one reason I joined this site :3 Thank you again for the links.

9. Cut?

10. Interesting. I just switched my routine I made up myself changing where my cardio is. I foresee me changing this again.

13. The topic of supplements were another area I had questions on! Once I understand that I have the diet area in check, I may ask more later.

Hi ya
I'm new and trying to gain as much info also :-) found this post very very helpful
Just need to research supplements and also decide wether to loose fat first or try building muscle for the first tym in my life lol
Good luck on your journey and I'm sure all the info you need will be on here for you !!

[stevialu]

Fantastic ! I always think about to lose weight, but do not know how to get start .

[Botika]

'Recomp' for Newbies: How Realistic is It?

Fantastic post by Miranda. Full thread here > http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156482713

One of the most recurring questions on this forum is newbies asking whether you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. That is, whether it is possible to 'recomp'. The answer is no and yes, depending on who's asking (or answering).

The term 'recomp' is a bit of a conundrum. Anyone who begins to exercise will change their body composition to some degree at some point. You will gain some lean mass in the least when you start resistance training. Often that is not enough to achieve a desired result. Fat has to be lost, too. So how do you go about it?

Whether you decide to build muscle or lose fat, the main thing to remember is that it is a LOT easier to lose/gain fat than to build muscle. Fat is relatively passive stuff. Either it goes to storage or is pulled out of storage. Muscle, on the other hand, is metabolically active, and costly to synthesise. You need to invest in it considerably, both training and energy wise.

When people 'recomp' a few scenarios are likely to occur:

You lose [a lot of] fat and gain [some] muscle.
You gain [a lot of] muscle and [some] fat.

What is not likely to happen is that you simultaneously gain a lot of muscle AND lose a lot of fat. But it is the essence of what is often meant by 'recomp': Can I lose 20lbs of fat and gain 20lbs of muscle please?

So what's the deal with 'recomp'?

Rank beginners with no prior training background commonly see 'noob magic' happen for the first six months or so. Muscle needs a stimulus to grow. Any stimulus is massive relative to nothing, and will exert a larger effect. Newbies also gain strength quick, and will progress to heavier weights more rapidly - a bigger stimulus gained a lot faster - than seasoned lifters. Hence they have more 'room to grow', and may gain more muscle than fat, should they gain much fat at all. Female newbies can expect to gain ~10-12lbs muscle in their first year of proper training and eating. This is as good as it will ever get.

While this is commonly referred to as 'recomp', strictly speaking it's not. But it's good enough to guide you through the early stages of your training career.

But why can't you gain muscle at the same rate as you lose fat, or 'at the same time'? To better understand what's going on, a quick recap on building muscle is needed.

First off: you can't build something out of nothing. You need a stimulus to grow. Then you need building material. Most importantly, you need energy to build with that material. The stimulus is achieved through resistance training where you place an unfamiliar mechanical tension on the muscle (aka tension overload). This causes damage that leads, acutely, to elevated protein synthesis in the muscle.

Protein synthesis can stay elevated for up to 48 hours (although it tends to decrease with training age). That's when it tends to overlap the next training session that, again, leads to elevated protein synthesis. Constant training leads to constant elevated protein synthesis leads to constant muscle gains. Right? Not quite.

While chronically elevated protein synthesis is fine and dandy, it isn't enough. If you want to grow, you need both protein to go in the muscle, and you need energy to put it in there. Muscle is metabolically active tissue and building it is a costly process. It takes in the realm of ~2,400 calories (including protein calories) to synthesise one pound of muscle tissue.

But why would that calorie surplus have to come from your diet when you have ample calories stored in your fat cells? Why can't you shuttle calories from body fat into muscle?

Under most circumstances, fat will only be released for energy when there's not enough energy available for the body to sustain itself. And when there's not enough energy available to sustain bodily functions, the body will downregulate or shut down any unnecessary, energy costly activities such as protein synthesis.

The body is a big internal feedback loop. It senses overall energy availability and adjusts accordingly. Low energy levels in cells lead to upregulation of enzymes that decrease overall protein synthesis and increase tissue breakdown for energy. The body also up- or downregulates a host of hormones that work synergistically to generate an overall 'anabolic' or 'catabolic' drive. Some of these are affected acutely, others take days and weeks to fully exert their effect.

That doesn't mean you won't elevate protein synthesis and 'build muscle' on a diet with your constant training sessions. You will. It's only this leads to recycling the body's existing protein stores, because you have no calories (= building material and energy to build) available for actual growth.

Much like bodyfat gains/losses are the net outcome of storing fat versus burning stored fat, 'building muscle' is the net outcome between synthesising new muscle tissue versus breaking down previously synthesised new tissue. When you feed, there's more protein synthesis than breakdown. When you fast, there's more protein breakdown than synthesis. The net balance between feeding and fasting (or 'bulking' and 'cutting') is what determines the net outcome.

Strength training on a diet allows you, briefly, to regain some of the muscle that you lose during dieting. The net outcome is muscle retention (or minimal muscle loss).

When you constantly hip-hop between acute calorie surpluses and deficits, you're not giving yourself enough time to grow. This compromises the body's ability to build muscle. You risk shooting yourself in the foot given the low rate at which an average woman can expect to gain muscle even under the best of circumstances.

Overweight/obese sedentary newbies with poor insulin sensitivity are one subset of noobs that can expect to lose fat and gain muscle literally 'at the same time'. What insulin does, among a host of other things, is enhance nutrient uptake in cells. The very short course of it is that exercise increases insulin sensitivity in the muscle long before it increases insulin sensitivity in fat cells. Fat cells become insulin resistant because they are full and start to resist the effects of insulin so the nutrients go to muscle instead. This effect tends to be short-term. As the person loses fat and becomes fitter, fat cells regain their sensitivity and the effect disappears.

Another subset are people who return to training/dieting after a long layoff, and/or who have been engaged in contact sports. They benefit from 'muscle memory' and they tend to have [retained] more muscle than someone who is completely new to training.

When you constantly eat above maintenance and train, you have optimised an overall anabolic environment. You keep on accumulating the body's protein stores with minimal protein breakdown. The net outcome is more muscle with [some] fat gains.

How much fat you will gain depends on how much over maintenance you eat. Due to the magnified training effect in newbies, you can initially expect a larger return for a smaller level of investment. But you do need to invest in it. You need a calorie surplus for building material and for energy to go into building muscle. You can't make something out of nothing.

...

Noob gains can lead to optical illusions. Adding muscle to a non-muscular frame may seem like the person has gained 'tons' of muscle (as commonly professed on the forum) in a few months. The only person you compare yourself to, of course, is the previous version of yourself. Again, anything relative to nothing tends to look like 'a lot'.

Constant training leads to muscle 'pump' (increased blood volume/water in the muscle), too. That can be deceiving. Muscle is like a sponge that fills with water (and glycogen) that makes it look bigger and prettier. This may look like you 'lost fat and gained muscle' at the same time, because you suddenly look bigger/defined. Any small fat gains are very hard to detect among your existing fat layers.

'Building muscle' here refers to increasing the protein content of the muscle. Not the smoke and mirrors bit. In absolute terms, you are not going to gain massive amounts of muscle in a few months, or even years. Next time you feel you should make outlandish claims, go buy 20lbs of chicken breast for reference. And remember that chicken breast is 70% water on average

[icareclinic]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me. Your discussions are so informative for me.

[jacoby9]

Great info!

[xhlb69x]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for this! I just bookmarked it. It answered a lot of my questions and saved us all a whiney thread post from me asking for help.

[trophywife2013]

Hey ladies I am new to this whole thing. I am waiting to lose love handles etc. I have had two kids and my body is not what it should be. I need help and encouragement. I am friends with a body builder on ******** and have been talking to her. Just need some diet plans and how to get started!!!

[CBexyGirl]

3.) Calculate your calories for that goal using......


I am hoping that you can help me with this as the link doesnt appear to work. Can anyone reccommend another thread or a good website where I can calculate my calories and macros specifically for my goal or give me the "formula"

I am just getting started and keep coming back to this thread to help me get a good solid plan together to help me reach my goal.

My goal is to decrease body fat% and increase muscle mass and definition. I would like to compete in the Bikini Category when I am developed enough.

My stats are as follows;
Age 23
Weight - 132lbs
Height - 5ft 4in
Body fat % - Around 24% according to my last measurement at my gym.
My goal bodyfat % is to reach around 15%.

Im not expecting anyone to do the work for me I just need to be pointed in the right direction to make sure I have the right calculations in order to create a diet plan with accurate calorie intake and Macro's for reaching my goal.

The websites I have looked at help to calculate calories for my height and weight ect but isnt comprehensive to take into consideration the work I do in the gym and the specific goal I am wanting to achieve.

Sorry, I hope I havent pi**ed anyone off with this post........ :$

[CBexyGirl]

Sorry Never mind I found the thread with the calculations on.....eventually. Thanks

3.) Calculate your calories for that goal using......


I am hoping that you can help me with this as the link doesnt appear to work. Can anyone reccommend another thread or a good website where I can calculate my calories and macros specifically for my goal or give me the "formula"

I am just getting started and keep coming back to this thread to help me get a good solid plan together to help me reach my goal.

My goal is to decrease body fat% and increase muscle mass and definition. I would like to compete in the Bikini Category when I am developed enough.

My stats are as follows;
Age 23
Weight - 132lbs
Height - 5ft 4in
Body fat % - Around 24% according to my last measurement at my gym.
My goal bodyfat % is to reach around 15%.

Im not expecting anyone to do the work for me I just need to be pointed in the right direction to make sure I have the right calculations in order to create a diet plan with accurate calorie intake and Macro's for reaching my goal.

The websites I have looked at help to calculate calories for my height and weight ect but isnt comprehensive to take into consideration the work I do in the gym and the specific goal I am wanting to achieve.

Sorry, I hope I havent pi**ed anyone off with this post........ :$