You're already strong and look good? Help a brother out! [Long post]

[FtotheK]

WARNING : THIS THREAD CONTAINS MANY QUESTIONS.

Hello everyone, I am making this thread because I have always been somewhat overweight and have decided that it’s enough, I need to get in shape. I will be telling you my background, before asking some questions. Feel free to answer as many questions as you can, any input is greatly appreciated

Background
I am a 20 year old male, I weigh 175 lbs at 5"7.5 and am around 32% BF (caliper test says 26%). I am a complete beginner at working out since I have never set foot in a real gym. I have done some home workouts before, but I only have 10 lbs to 25 lbs dumbbells max and have only done it for the summer, stopping when school starts in September. I have done that maybe 3-4 times in the past 5 years and one of those times I did P90X. I was never really strict on my nutrition, and was only focusing on eating more and getting more protein, which means I never really stuck with it and I actually gained a lot of weight. I would get small strength results (bicep curls going from 10lbsx8 for 4 sets to 20-25lbsx8 for 3-4 sets in about 3 months, for example) and small size results, but only in my arms. I have never bench pressed, deadlifted, squatted, etc., and I can't do a single pullup. I can, however, do 30-40 pushups straight. I haven't worked out the least bit in the last 1.5-2 years. I hope this gives you a good overview of my background.

I have been a student for the past 15 years of my life, which means I am always sitting down, whether it be in school (15 hours each week), at home doing homework (like 2-3 times that) or in the car in traffic. I also don't check what I eat, which means I always eat way more than I should and I eat junk. I will attach pictures of what I look like right now at the end of this thread.


I will be starting in January and will be able to work out around 3 days, maybe 4 days each week, for 15 weeks. After that I will have 4 months of summer where I will be able to train 4 days a week. My goal is really a long-term goal in the sense that I'm not looking to cut down for this summer or anything like that. I just want to be a muscular guy with reasonable BF, anything between 10-20% is fine, etc. I don’t want to simply cut down on everything including muscle and be slim in 2-3 months. I want to do this right.
I have read a lot, over the years, on everything about bodybuilding and nutrition, meaning I know what the terms are and what they refer to. I have a minimum of knowledge, but : a) I have no actual real life practical experience, skill or knowledge, and b) I have so many information in my head that I don’t know what would be the most optimal thing to do for the long-term.

I know that most of my questions could be easily answered with “choose a beginner program like SS, and just go to the gym and check your nutrition and evolve through that on your own. You are a beginner and anything you do will work.” I know that, and that’s why I am looking for answers for the long-term. I want to know the answer for when I start, but also for when I progress. I am NOT looking for a shortcut, I am making this thread because I see so many guys saying they wish they would’ve started another way, or done things differently, and I don’t want to do that.

Questions
1) I get confused between what program and what split is better, and which one is best at which level. I know about full body workouts, I know about bro splits, I know about PPL, I know about 1 exercise workouts. Considering my specific situations, the fact that I will be working out for 3 days a week for 15 weeks, then 4 days a week for 4 months, and on and on after that, what would be the best choice and how should I progress between programs?

2) Considering rep schemes, I know general information about it, and I always seem to have stuck between the general 8-12 rep range on basicly every exercise I did at home. The problem is, I now will be doing this at a gym and taking it seriously. I see so many things about low reps for strength, medium reps for hypertrophy and high reps for endurance, switching up rep schemes between each workout, or exercises, or even between sets, and I just don’t know how I should plan out my workouts from the beginning all the way up.

3) I saw James Grage's videos and I was that he advocates a 20-10-10-15 rep range. Would I be better off using this rep range on most of my exercises?

4) Again, I saw James Grage's videos and he advocates doing high reps (15+) at the beginning of the workout to get the blood flow going, then doing low reps (1-5) on a compound exercise for strength, before moving over to isolation exercises with medium reps (6-12). He then suggests finishing the workout with high reps to burn out the muscle at the end. Would you guys suggest this, and if so, how would you plan it out?

5) I have some weaknesses and I have some specific goals I wish to go for. I know people say it's best to build a base before moving on to isolation exercises and everything, and I don't want to question this, but I was wondering if I should be focusing or working on these goals from the beginning or wait a couple months/years? (For example, I want bigger arms, larger back (LATS), smaller waist, cut the fat around the waist and glutes, etc.)

6) The way I understand creatine, it should, but doesn’t need to be be used by everyone, everytime, but not from the beginning. So, should I simply wait for the time where I plateau completely (A.K.A. after noob gains) before moving onto creatine? I will remain natural my whole life and was wondering if creatine would be helpful or if it would be considered overkill, or whatever.

7) I have found myself a training partner, but the problem (if it is a problem) is that he's a BIG cardio buff. He often runs every day during the summer, during winter he goes swimming, he runs miles upon miles when he goes to the gym, etc. I read that cardio can be good, but too much cardio can be bad for overall muscle gain. What should be my strategy regarding cardio with my friend? I know I will need it to lose weight, which I want to do, but what numbers should I go for? Should I just follow him everywhere or be like "NO, I have my program and it says 20 minutes max!"?

8) When I workout, I have a tendency to want to push myself to the max, meaning I want to feel exhausted at the end of the workout. When I used to follow programs that included 10-15 sets per muscle part (I'm guessing), I would often include a "finisher" for every muscle. So, for example, if I just finished an arms workout with approximately 20-25 lbs, I would take a 10-15lbs and do as many bicep curls and tricep extensions as I could, or I would do dropsets, etc, all so that I could "burn out" my muscle and feel completely pumped at the end. The problem is, I read that this isn't the best thing to do... What do you guys think? Should I do this when I start going to the gym? Should I stop doing this but look for the same muscle exhaustion? How should I plan this out?

9) I was wondering if these parameters had an impact on how I should calculate my daily caloric intake : the fact that I spend 5-6+ hours a day sitting down, the fact that I walk kind of fast-paced everyday at school for around 30-45 minutes total and the fact that I work in a grocery store where I am standing up and walking 95% of the time, pulling and pushing things and carrying milk crates around, etc?

10) Nutrition wise, looking at my goals, my pictures and the long-term nature of this goal (I'm not looking to rush things in a month), what should be my focus? I have read about a couple different things and was wondering if and how I should implement them : Cut, bulk or maintain? Low or high carbs? Intermittent fasting or not?

11) I understand how to calculate your daily caloric needs, your macros, etc., but I have never understood how to calculate the impact or your WORKOUTS (not cardio, that I understand) on your daily caloric needs. How does one calculate the calories burned during a workout?

12) I have mild but constant lower back pain, which I attribute to three things, the fact that I have been carrying a heavy bag around for years pretty much every week day, the fact that I carry milk crates and stuff in a pretty terrible form at work (I know, it's my fault) and the fact that I'm always sitting down, whether it be at school, at home or in the car in traffic. How should I deal with this? Have any of you guys ever gone through this and fixed it? How?

13) Would it be worth it to hire a personal trainer for just a couple weeks/a month so I could learn the correct form on everything, or should I just deal with it by myself (I have a gym partner, but I will be going to the gym for like 1-2 months before he joins me)?

14) Being a student, I don’t have money to get my daily protein intake through normal food (I.E meat, eggs, etc.), which means I will get approximately 30% of it through things like flax seeds, chia seeds, quinoa, whey protein, etc. Is that something I should avoid at all cost or can it work, considering my financial situation?

Thanks a lot to anybody who will take the time to read and answer any of these questions. You are directly having a positive impact on my life and I am forever grateful for that.

FtotheK

[FtotheK]

Bump

[Partyrocking]

I tried to read all of this- I admit to some skimming, but here's what I got.

If you have 3 days a week to train, then I'd start w/ a full body routine (e.g. Fierce 5 or the Bare Bones Series), so you hit each muscle 3 times a week. Once you have 4 days a week to train, I would consider moving on to an upper/lower (unless you're still progressing on the FB routine). Follow the routine as written. Don't add finishers/burners whatever. You need to give a program at least a month to know if it's working for you, and you won't know if it's working for you if you add a bunch of stuff on day one.

A number of splits can work depending on your goals, experience, and how many days a week you have to train, but if you only have 3/4 days a week to start with, then I would not do a PPL at this time as most of the are made to be run twice a week and you can't do that right now.

There are a variety of rep ranges that can work depending on what your goal is and how the program is designed. I would not worry too much about which rep range you are training in. Instead, find a program that excites you. If you like what you're doing and bust your ass, you'll make progress.

Focus on cutting. Don't even think about bulking until you lose that fat. Bulking when you're overweight to start with is just a bad move.

You don't need to calculate the calories for each workout. The calorie estimate you use will take into account your activity level, so start with an estimate and adjust as needed.

I would try more stretching/mobility work like the Limber 11. Also work on your posture and stop picking up things poorly.

Most personal trainers don't know crap, so unless you know the person is legit, I would not hire him/her for form help. I would honestly just post a video of your form and ask for feedback here or in the Exercise Section.

Supplements are not cheaper than food if you shop wisely. Look for coupons/deal at the local grocery store. Buy cheaper cuts of meat. I would forget about all supplements (many are a scam anyway) until you are eating/training consistently. If you can't get the first two things right, no supplement will help you.

[FtotheK]

Thanks a lot! I will try to focus on cardio and form in the beginning and I will follow your advice.

[Diamhea]

Skinnyfat. First priority is getting lean.

[Francis333]

WARNING : THIS THREAD CONTAINS MANY QUESTIONS.

Hello everyone, I am making this thread because I have always been somewhat overweight and have decided that it’s enough, I need to get in shape. I will be telling you my background, before asking some questions. Feel free to answer as many questions as you can, any input is greatly appreciated

Background
I am a 20 year old male, I weigh 175 lbs at 5"7.5 and am around 32% BF (caliper test says 26%). I am a complete beginner at working out since I have never set foot in a real gym. I have done some home workouts before, but I only have 10 lbs to 25 lbs dumbbells max and have only done it for the summer, stopping when school starts in September. I have done that maybe 3-4 times in the past 5 years and one of those times I did P90X. I was never really strict on my nutrition, and was only focusing on eating more and getting more protein, which means I never really stuck with it and I actually gained a lot of weight. I would get small strength results (bicep curls going from 10lbsx8 for 4 sets to 20-25lbsx8 for 3-4 sets in about 3 months, for example) and small size results, but only in my arms. I have never bench pressed, deadlifted, squatted, etc., and I can't do a single pullup. I can, however, do 30-40 pushups straight. I haven't worked out the least bit in the last 1.5-2 years. I hope this gives you a good overview of my background.

I have been a student for the past 15 years of my life, which means I am always sitting down, whether it be in school (15 hours each week), at home doing homework (like 2-3 times that) or in the car in traffic. I also don't check what I eat, which means I always eat way more than I should and I eat junk. I will attach pictures of what I look like right now at the end of this thread.


I will be starting in January and will be able to work out around 3 days, maybe 4 days each week, for 15 weeks. After that I will have 4 months of summer where I will be able to train 4 days a week. My goal is really a long-term goal in the sense that I'm not looking to cut down for this summer or anything like that. I just want to be a muscular guy with reasonable BF, anything between 10-20% is fine, etc. I don’t want to simply cut down on everything including muscle and be slim in 2-3 months. I want to do this right.
I have read a lot, over the years, on everything about bodybuilding and nutrition, meaning I know what the terms are and what they refer to. I have a minimum of knowledge, but : a) I have no actual real life practical experience, skill or knowledge, and b) I have so many information in my head that I don’t know what would be the most optimal thing to do for the long-term.

I know that most of my questions could be easily answered with “choose a beginner program like SS, and just go to the gym and check your nutrition and evolve through that on your own. You are a beginner and anything you do will work.” I know that, and that’s why I am looking for answers for the long-term. I want to know the answer for when I start, but also for when I progress. I am NOT looking for a shortcut, I am making this thread because I see so many guys saying they wish they would’ve started another way, or done things differently, and I don’t want to do that.

Questions
1) I get confused between what program and what split is better, and which one is best at which level. I know about full body workouts, I know about bro splits, I know about PPL, I know about 1 exercise workouts. Considering my specific situations, the fact that I will be working out for 3 days a week for 15 weeks, then 4 days a week for 4 months, and on and on after that, what would be the best choice and how should I progress between programs?

2) Considering rep schemes, I know general information about it, and I always seem to have stuck between the general 8-12 rep range on basicly every exercise I did at home. The problem is, I now will be doing this at a gym and taking it seriously. I see so many things about low reps for strength, medium reps for hypertrophy and high reps for endurance, switching up rep schemes between each workout, or exercises, or even between sets, and I just don’t know how I should plan out my workouts from the beginning all the way up.

3) I saw James Grage's videos and I was that he advocates a 20-10-10-15 rep range. Would I be better off using this rep range on most of my exercises?

4) Again, I saw James Grage's videos and he advocates doing high reps (15+) at the beginning of the workout to get the blood flow going, then doing low reps (1-5) on a compound exercise for strength, before moving over to isolation exercises with medium reps (6-12). He then suggests finishing the workout with high reps to burn out the muscle at the end. Would you guys suggest this, and if so, how would you plan it out?

5) I have some weaknesses and I have some specific goals I wish to go for. I know people say it's best to build a base before moving on to isolation exercises and everything, and I don't want to question this, but I was wondering if I should be focusing or working on these goals from the beginning or wait a couple months/years? (For example, I want bigger arms, larger back (LATS), smaller waist, cut the fat around the waist and glutes, etc.)

6) The way I understand creatine, it should, but doesn’t need to be be used by everyone, everytime, but not from the beginning. So, should I simply wait for the time where I plateau completely (A.K.A. after noob gains) before moving onto creatine? I will remain natural my whole life and was wondering if creatine would be helpful or if it would be considered overkill, or whatever.

7) I have found myself a training partner, but the problem (if it is a problem) is that he's a BIG cardio buff. He often runs every day during the summer, during winter he goes swimming, he runs miles upon miles when he goes to the gym, etc. I read that cardio can be good, but too much cardio can be bad for overall muscle gain. What should be my strategy regarding cardio with my friend? I know I will need it to lose weight, which I want to do, but what numbers should I go for? Should I just follow him everywhere or be like "NO, I have my program and it says 20 minutes max!"?

8) When I workout, I have a tendency to want to push myself to the max, meaning I want to feel exhausted at the end of the workout. When I used to follow programs that included 10-15 sets per muscle part (I'm guessing), I would often include a "finisher" for every muscle. So, for example, if I just finished an arms workout with approximately 20-25 lbs, I would take a 10-15lbs and do as many bicep curls and tricep extensions as I could, or I would do dropsets, etc, all so that I could "burn out" my muscle and feel completely pumped at the end. The problem is, I read that this isn't the best thing to do... What do you guys think? Should I do this when I start going to the gym? Should I stop doing this but look for the same muscle exhaustion? How should I plan this out?

9) I was wondering if these parameters had an impact on how I should calculate my daily caloric intake : the fact that I spend 5-6+ hours a day sitting down, the fact that I walk kind of fast-paced everyday at school for around 30-45 minutes total and the fact that I work in a grocery store where I am standing up and walking 95% of the time, pulling and pushing things and carrying milk crates around, etc?

10) Nutrition wise, looking at my goals, my pictures and the long-term nature of this goal (I'm not looking to rush things in a month), what should be my focus? I have read about a couple different things and was wondering if and how I should implement them : Cut, bulk or maintain? Low or high carbs? Intermittent fasting or not?

11) I understand how to calculate your daily caloric needs, your macros, etc., but I have never understood how to calculate the impact or your WORKOUTS (not cardio, that I understand) on your daily caloric needs. How does one calculate the calories burned during a workout?

12) I have mild but constant lower back pain, which I attribute to three things, the fact that I have been carrying a heavy bag around for years pretty much every week day, the fact that I carry milk crates and stuff in a pretty terrible form at work (I know, it's my fault) and the fact that I'm always sitting down, whether it be at school, at home or in the car in traffic. How should I deal with this? Have any of you guys ever gone through this and fixed it? How?

13) Would it be worth it to hire a personal trainer for just a couple weeks/a month so I could learn the correct form on everything, or should I just deal with it by myself (I have a gym partner, but I will be going to the gym for like 1-2 months before he joins me)?

14) Being a student, I don’t have money to get my daily protein intake through normal food (I.E meat, eggs, etc.), which means I will get approximately 30% of it through things like flax seeds, chia seeds, quinoa, whey protein, etc. Is that something I should avoid at all cost or can it work, considering my financial situation?

Thanks a lot to anybody who will take the time to read and answer any of these questions. You are directly havin a positive impact on my life and I am forever grateful for that.

FtotheK

1. The best program is the one that keeeps you in the gym consistently. It doesn't matter what program you run, as long as you enjoy it.
2. The program you follow will determine the rep ranges. It doesn't matter in the end as a beginner.
3. Sure, could work. But do whatever you enjoy.
4. Broscience. Do what your program says.
5. All these things will come as time goes on indirectly. No need to 'focus' on this ****.
6. Yea get Creatine. There's no downside.
7. Don't be a ****ing marathon runner. Keep cardio to an amount that you still have energy to go to the gym. You don't need cardio to lose weight.
8. Lol, don't go to failure on every set. Think of yourself as starting a new physical labour job. Do you think it's smart to all of a sudden get off the couch that you've been sitting on all your life and start right away working 50 hours a week of something your body isn't used to? No, start small, and build yourself very very slowly. This ****'s for life, your muscles have a capacity and it's nonsensical to 'kill yourself' everytime in the gym. Classic beginner mistake.
9. Read the nutrition stickies to set your calories.
10. Cut. Don't go no carb. And IF doesn't matter, whatever is preferable to your lifestyle.
11. You don't need to calculate all this ****. Figuring out your calories is trial and error, not done by a calorie calculator online.
12. Go to a physiotherapist, Muscular Activation Technique Specialist depending on where your located, or chiropracter. People online can't help you with this.
13. Depends on your trainer. Lots of trainers are ****, some are good. Its up to you. Watching videos by experts will help, depending on who you watch.
14. That's fine.

I'll coach you for a small fee if you'd like. You sound like a classic beginner flooded with a bunch of information and has no idea what to do. Hit up my PMs if you want further help.

[FtotheK]

Thanks for your answers everyone, I will keep all of it in mind for the future!