Even "5/3/1" would be a decent program for a beginner, however the benefit to something like " Starting Strength" is the frequency of the lifts. It allows you to get a lot more practice at them, quicker. So starting with something like "Starting strength" THEN moving to 5/3/1 after a few months is a good course of action. imo

I personally like to do customized programs for people, based on what they need(lack), but in your position I think you would be fine with the above.

thats good to know. thank you for the info. I have been browsing around that website and it has some of the information i have been looking for regarding nutrition.

awesome man, thank you for the feedback. I will listen to your advice and stick with the starting strength program and see how it works out.

i need to figure out what a good weight for me to start out at, as well as someone to show me how to properly execute these exercises. I have a meeting with the personal trainer on monday to do an entry evaluation, so i will get some info out of him

i havent asked this yet, but what about shoes? i bought some flat footed shoes the other day, is that the type of footwear that is best?

Ya some chucks or something like the Adidas superstar 2.0.

awesome. I'll probably pick up a pair of chucks sometime this week. I've never owned a pair of chucks, let alone flat footed shoes.

what do you guys think about this?



I know it probably seems like I am over thinking everything, I just want to make sure I am doing the right things to help me meet my goals

had an early gym session this morning. Focus on triceps, abs, back and neck.

triceps I did the cable pull down with the rope

50x25
60x25
70x25

for neck I was doing shrugs on the barbell

50+bar x 15
65+bar x 15
75+bar x 15

I hopped on a couple machines for my back and did some solid numbers, higher than what I was expecting to do, focused mainly on my form and muscle control flexing that particular area of muscle.

last night I had for dinner a chicken breast, rice, Brussels sprouts and a glass of whole milk. I woke up so hungry. Does anyone have some suggestions on how to prevent this from happening. I know that when your sleeping is when your body is rebuilding your muscle the most.

this morning before I went to workout I had a bowl of whole grain cheerios with whole milk, English muffin with peanut butter, an apple and glass of orange juice. After my workout I had 2 whole eggs with 3 more egg whites, 1 kiwi, 1 apple, Greek yogurt with granola and 1 serving of the "rockin fuel chocolate milk"

for my snack while I am at work, I am taking 1 cup of almonds 1 pear and will have a glass of whole milk.

for dinner tonight I'm going to have 1 red meat steak, green beans, mashed potatoes and a glass of v8.

what do you guys think? also, i think i am lacking efficiency with my after workout stretching. i dont know if i am or i am not, but im so sore. either that or my body is just hating me for switching to using weights instead of my own body weight. i could not sleep worth a shit last night, just tossing and turning, sore and hungry.

Soreness will go away after another week or so. The more you lift, the less sore you'll get over time.
As for hunger? You're trying to gain weight anyways, right? Just keep eating solid foods. Your body will take care of the rest.

yea, trying to gain weight. pretty hard for my body type with a high metabolism. thanks for the feedback

High metabolism = more frequent meals.

Eat 5-6 times a day. And add in 2 protein shakes a day inbetween those meals (one in the morning for a "snack", and one post workout)

Doesn't really matter how many meals you eat. Main thing is you're getting in all your calories every day. It just comes down if you can handle 4 bigger meals for example. Some people can't eat a lot at one sitting. I tend to prefer it for myself.

On the flip side it's hard for some people to make time to eat 6+ times a day do fewer, larger meals might work better.

The majority of your food is carb/fat. Get more protein.

Secondly you say you have a high metabolism yet are eating less than my wife lol. Everyone says how they can't gain weight and they eat soooo much, but in actuality they're not eating much at all.

Don't think people realize how much food even 3k calories is a day. Day in and day out.

do you have any suggestions meal wise or items to eat to help boost my protein intake. I can eat all day, I am a chef, which is a downside because I am in a kitchen cooking a lot of fatty dishes.

yesterday I did a calorie count and I took in 2,980ish calories, forgot the exact number. I was shooting for 3100 though. But like you said, bigger meals will most likely work better for me as well.

does anyone have any suggestions on a specific protein/mass gainer supp?

I have a buddy that swears by ON Serious Mass. 1500 cals a serving

You are in a kitchen.. Dump 1 cup of pasteurized egg whites, scoop of whey, some whole milk, pb, oats, etc in a blender, and drink it. I make all kinds of high calorie shakes in my vitamix..

"weight gainers" are kind of a waste of money IMO. Most just are whey with maltodextrin or other cheap fillers yet you're paying a premium for it. Can make something much better, and tailor it to your needs, for cheaper. They can be convenient for sure, but otherwise.

I mean literally make a damn milkshake with ice cream, milk, etc if you want. Dump in a scoop or two of whey and you have a "mass gainer" and honestly still higher quality ingredients than "most" store bought ones. haha

A tray of Oreos a day will help keep the skinny away

haha damn. I love the vitamix here at work, its amazing. I think sprouts has whey protein in bulk for like $5.99lb. Thanks for the info man.

dude, I'm sold. I'll just order a case of oreos on my next order for the restaurant, and then I'll win.

Vitamix is one of the best purchases I have made..lol If it wasn't for that I would get almost no vegitables in. I just blend shit into shakes, and you don't even taste it.

what's an example of a veg protein shake that you make? I have been slacking on my vegetable intake for the last week

1cup of egg whites, scoop of whey, pb and/or coconut oil , 1/2 to 1cup of spinach, oats/cream of rice if I want carbs.

If I want something with more vegetables I'll add spinach, kale, some ginger, and frozen berries.

For shakes I usually use frozen organic spinach.

X3 for starting with starting strength. I've switched from it, but some days just do one of the routines from it when I get bored. Even if you only follow it for a month, commit to it and don't alleviate from it until you've given it a fair chance.

Nutrition...you need to find your maintenance and eat more than it. Use an online calculator and adjust from there. Or just dreamer bulk.

I've done quite a few online calculators and they have ranged from 3100-3300 intake daily.

I plan on giving the starting strength program a shot. Today at the gym I was observing a guy dealifting 4-45's on each side, trying to observe his form and his motions placement of arms stance etc. I tried to talk to him to ask him for advice but the only thing that I got out of him was " I just do it the way it feels right "

I have the meeting with the personal trainer to do my initial assessment, hopefully I can get some answers out of him. No one seems like they want to give me tips

There is a lot of info in the book on proper Deadlift form, and other form.

yea I can read up and watch all of the YouTube videos that I want but is that the same as someone in person showing me how, like watching my movements and helping me with proper form?

I am going to try squats today, just put a little weight on there to stabilize the bar and try and work on form

It isn't as good as someone who KNOWS what they are doing, coaching you in person. But it is worlds better than some jackass that has no clue, trying to teach you. You don't know what you are doing, so you will have no clue how qualified this person is.

Get videos of your lifts, and we can help with form issues.

ok, let me see what i can do.

This. I've watched guys at my gym pull over 5 for reps but their form is atrocious. Follow his advice, I promise it will be the single best decision you can make at this point.

basically wasted time at the gym today. I did calves hams and quads on machines. I tried to get on the squat bar, but I am so sore and need to stretch and let my body rest.

the trainer guy I keep mentioning pulled me aside and had to reschedule for Wednesday instead.

Should just stretched and did some light weight squats, or curls on the smith machine...

tomorrow im going to try do just that.

today for calves, i was surprised at the weight that i was comfortable doing. i did 155 3x12

my quads and hams are so weak, on the machine i was barely hitting 70

i need to work more at keeping my heart rate up after my warm-up and really focus on stretching afterwards. i will stretch before and not as much afterwards.

I haven't been to the gym in about a week. Gonna take off next week as well. Once the time changes for everyone else, I get to go back to my steady work schedule. Once that happens on 3/9, I'm going to hit the gym hard as fuck for the next 5 months or so.....but I feel like a lethargic pile of shit missing 2 weeks.

good luck man. I have been going everyday since I got my membership, and even did a two-a-day on one of those days. I am not hitting the same muscles back to back though, nor am I hitting anything heavy. I am waiting until after I have my meeting with this trainer before I start trying to do anything heavy.

I've mainly been trying to adjust my calorie intake this last week. Yesterday I only hit 2,600+/. It is harder to do on days that I work. I know I work in a restaurant, but I work in a French restaurant, so its not exactly ideal. I have been stacking up vegetables like crazy though.:beatdeadhorse2:

With starting strength you only go 3x a week. Start light and work up like the book tells you to, bring the routine with you when you see the trainer and have him/her work on form for the lifts. Then record and spec or some of the other guys on here can go further into it.

You don't have to just eat "clean" to meet your calories, throw in some high calorie crap if you need to. Pb works good for me.