To weak for the gym what to do?

Im age 23 weigh 10.5 stone.. few months ago I was 10 stone bang on and decided to try to bulk using supplements and generally eating more and calorie counting. In no time atall I went to 11 stone which was weird as I've always found it hard to gain weight so can only assume it was from the supplement taking more than the food. Anyway I got discouraged as I didn't feel like I looked any bigger and lost half a stone. Anyway ive decided to try again and will start my bulk diet again tomorrow.. should I go to the gym and work on strength whilst bulking? I feel like im too weak to even curl 10kg on one arm so do you think I should just lift at home till im stronger? also how long should each session in the gym be? I don't see myself staying in the gym longer than 2hrs tbh 3 would be a serious push.

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Reply 1

BKS

It wasn't the supplements in themselves, it might have just been they were getting your calorie in take up but none of them do anything magical

Have you read the new FAQ? Read the bits of relevance and you'll be off to a good start. It's still under construction so they bit on working out at home is still here.

Short version, go to the gym and do a real programme (ie what you curl doesn't matter and it's what you do that matters not how long it takes)

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

Schrödingers Cat

Don't waste your time with isolation exercises like bicep curls if you want to bulk.

Do compound exercises like push ups pull ups squats and deadlifts. Remember to eat lots of protein of you want to get bigger muscles

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 3

BKS

Original post by Schrödingers Cat

Totally agree but I think noobs often get overly caught up on protein- 1.5g per kg is plenty

Reply 4

Schrödingers Cat

Original post by BKS

Totally agree but I think noobs often get overly caught up on protein- 1.5g per kg is plenty

Agreed

Reply 5

MindTheGaps

You can do a good workout in 1 hour. 2 hours is too long, 3 is just going to be counter-productive. Why would you do such a thing?

Get a real workout plan rather than just heading down and doing whatever takes your fancy. Starting Strength or Stronglifts would be my recommendations.

Reply 6

Heartbreakid

Original post by Rinsed

where can I find such plan?

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Reply 7

jimbles

Stronglifts 5x5. Seriously. Best program for starting. Google it, it has it's own website. Thank me later.

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Reply 8

BKS

Original post by Heartbreakid

where can I find such plan?

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Still not read the FAQ I see :tongue:

Seriously, you'd be doing yourself a favour

Reply 9

hermitthefrog

Original post by Heartbreakid

I'm a weak little female who struggles to carry anything remotely heavy, if I can get my ass into the gym and pick up some weights ANYONE can. I know it's probably harder as a male, but everyone has to start somewhere, and no one is judging you, most people won't even be looking at how much you're lifting. Get on a proper lifting programme involving compounds, you'll be surprised how quickly you progress. Much faster than 'working on your strength' at home. Once you can do like 15 press ups you're not going to make any gains from bodyweight exercises. I wasted 5 months doing the exact same thing, progress was minimal. And 2 hrs in the gym is very unnecessary, 1 hour is fine on a good programme.

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Reply 10

Dilzo999

Original post by jimbles

Stronglifts 5x5. Seriously. Best program for starting. Google it, it has it's own website. Thank me later.

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Greyskull LP > Stronglifts.

Reply 11

jimbles

Original post by Dilzo999

Greyskull LP > Stronglifts.

Either will be beneficial to a small, newbie to the gym, let's be honest! :smile:

Reply 12

Gambit92

Fkin lol at people recommending op 5x5 and then a year from now op still looks like crap. Most people on strength routines look like crap, no one outside the gym cares how much you can lift. Looking good is the most important thing, op find yourself a high volume routine, 8-10 reps.

Reply 13

Gambit92

Original post by Schrödingers Cat

Pls go with dat bs

Reply 14

Dilzo999

Original post by jimbles

Either will be beneficial to a small, newbie to the gym, let's be honest! :smile:

True, but I just think Greyskull is always better for a beginner, most people join gym for aesthetics so it makes sense to do a strength and hypertrophy program instead of a pure strength program.

Original post by Gambit92

Pls go with dat bs

He's right, it would be stupid for someone new to the gym, who IS weak to not do some form of strength training with compound exercises.

Reply 15

Placeboo123

Original post by Heartbreakid

Why do you assume your diet isn't supplying you with enough nutrition that you have to buy supplements?
It'd be great if you could eat real food and get the proteins and carbs that you need, supplements are only there to catch up for the proteins or carbs you haven't eaten.

Go to the Gym! Don't bother wasting time at home, honestly, been there, done that, you won't get anywhere near as much done at home as you could in the gym I'm sure there'll be guys even smaller than you.
I'd recommend if you could get a friend or something to go alongside with you, maybe for the first few months so that you get comfortable with the new environment. Make sure he isn't slowing you down and turning it into a social activity rather than work out.

You can google some gym routines or just go 5x a week or however much you can or want to go and do a chest, back, shoulders, legs, triceps/biceps day and repeat every week.
Say if you go for a chest day, before you head of google some chest exercise that you can do in the gym with the equipment they provide.
I found it nice to say doing bench press start with idk 30kg do 12 reps, give yourself a minute or two, do 35kg 10 reps, 40kg 8 reps and 45 kg 6 reps so that your last set is the maximum you can do.
Although you might want to go easy on yourself for at least the first week (especially on your first leg day :biggrin:

).
I wouldn't do more than 2 hours, one and a bit is probably enough.

You can quote me or PM me if you want, I'm no expert but only I used to go gym when there wasn't so much stuff to do for school so I'll probably be able to answer most of your questions :smile:

Reply 16

jimbles

Original post by Dilzo999

True, but I just think Greyskull is always better for a beginner, most people join gym for aesthetics so it makes sense to do a strength and hypertrophy program instead of a pure strength program.

He's right, it would be stupid for someone new to the gym, who IS weak to not do some form of strength training with compound exercises.

True that, I'm speaking from a sports perspective side as that's me. I'm not about aesthetics, I'm about being stronger in my sports which is where 5x5 helps me :smile:

Reply 17

Gambit92

Original post by Dilzo999

He/she said to forget doing isolation exercises like bicep curls if op wants to bulk which is bs, if you want to get bigger then you should directly work each body part. What's wrong with mixing isolation with compound exercises?

I started doing a bro split when I first started and made better gains than all my friends who were on strength routines (yes my strength gains were slower). Now I work each body part directly x2 a week.