Starting weight/strength training for 17 y/o male

Hey guys!

I'm hoping you can help a guy out here - I'm a 17 year old male and currently go swimming 3-5 times a week. Recently, I've considered weight training twice a week and then swimming twice a week as well.

What are some good starting exercises using weights? I can carry a 15KG bag of soil fairly easily but my arms are puny, my abs are double puny and barely visible but my legs are fairly muscle-y. My pecs are, well, small-ish?

What do you guys recommend? I will (hopefully) be attending a fully-equipped gym, so I'm presuming they would supply most of the equipment.. Also, how many reps and sets of exercises should I do? 12 sets, 3 reps?

Cheers! :wink:

What're your goals?

Reply 21

SEHughes

11

Original post by Duskstar

Bodybuilding is completely counterproductive for a swimmer - you need to maintain flexibility and low weight, or strength isn't going to be any use, and tone is even less helpful.

Every swimming coach I've met says not to do free weight training, just to do bodyweight, and otherwise let your body develop naturally.

Posted from TSR Mobile

We're talking about strength training. It's possible to maintain the same bodyweight and get stronger. Don't know what you're on about with flexibility and "tone".

In any case, who's to say he's not too skinny to be competitive? Maybe he needs to get bigger to get stronger?

Reply 22

Duskstar

13

Original post by SEHughes

We're talking about strength training. It's possible to maintain the same bodyweight and get stronger. Don't know what you're on about with flexibility and "tone".

In any case, who's to say he's not too skinny to be competitive? Maybe he needs to get bigger to get stronger?

I read into the OP as being more about bodybuilding :dontknow:

Regardless my advice on bodyweight vs free weights for a competitive swimmer still stands, and turns out jake isn't swimming for competition anyway ~

Reply 23

Sam Walters

3

Original post by jake.surfer

Exactly!

Okay - thank you!!

One last question, (and I promise this is the last one..) - you do weight training, I guess, so what are your favourite machines to use and how long do you use them for? Would you recommend something like 30 minutes weights and 30-45 minutes biking/running on TM, on the same day? I'm trying to keep the cost down, aha!

This is probably all in the sticky note, so sorry if it is! :smile:

Cheers mate! :wink:

People on here are AWESOME! Thanks guys! :biggrin:

Yeah - I've learnt that from swimming the butterfly stroke.. All that hard work for nothing!

What would you say are the most effective weight exercises for beginners, like me? I'd probably prefer free weights as I wouldn't be restricted to any movements..

What are you lifting now, bro? 20 KG's?

I'm still on the weight that I felt comfortable with once I got the technique down. 60kg.

Reply 24

SEHughes

11

Your advice is based on no evidence. What's magically different about bodyweight vs free weight? That bodyweight is in very high reps? What if you wanted to get stronger? You're going to use low reps which you can't do with bodyweight exercises unless you get into advanced gymnastics.

Reply 25

jake.surfer

OP

5

Original post by Duskstar

I have never had any protein shakes/bars or even recovery shakes (for starters I don't like milkshakes). My food of choice as an 'energy snack' is Nature Valley bars - they're granola/oat bars if you haven't heard of them, and come in quite a few flavours (I normally have the berry flavour) - and possibly an apple. I normally have this kind of snack before training, and then I have dinner pretty soon after - I don't (and didn't) eat anything in the middle of sessions.I also think eating things labelled 'energy' foods can be more mental than actually beneficial physically, and so at competitions I used to drink Lucazade and eat Lucazade tablets (before they were banned lol), but you shouldn't need that for day to day exercise - just change up your diet if you find yourself running out of energy.I've never had trouble putting on weight, however, and for all you know you'll find the same, so I'd say start off with just more carbs and natural protein. I can appreciate why some people do eat protein bars or drink shakes, and that may be necessary if you get serious about bodybuilding, but I don't particularly care about it, and as I said I don't struggle to put on weight :/Again, this sort of thing is whatever works for you, and I hope I've helped. Most of what I say is from my experience, so it could be different for you :PHave fun!

Haha, thank you! I'm sure I will!
I don't struggle to put on weight either; one too many takeaway's and, well, you get the picture.

Thank you so much!

Original post by Smack

What're your goals?

Well, I'd like to have big arms, chest (pecs), shoulders, six-pack, etc. Basically to have a fit and toned body. Preferably, I'd like to gain a lil' bit of muscle by this time next month (hence why I started swimming ages ago!).

Original post by Duskstar

I read into the OP as being more about bodybuilding :dontknow:

Regardless my advice on bodyweight vs free weights for a competitive swimmer still stands, and turns out jake isn't swimming for competition anyway ~

Well, I don't swim competitively, but it's always a good feeling when you can beat the guy swimming in the fast lane! Mwahaha!

Reply 26

jake.surfer

OP

5

Original post by SEHughes

Your advice is based on no evidence. What's magically different about bodyweight vs free weight? That bodyweight is in very high reps? What if you wanted to get stronger? You're going to use low reps which you can't do with bodyweight exercises unless you get into advanced gymnastics.

I think what Duskstar is saying is - as I didn't make clear at the start of this thread that I don't swim competitively - it wouldn't be a good idea to bulk up muscles as you would swim less efficiently and using weights would therefore be counterproductive, for competitive swimming. Partly my fault for not making things clear to start with.

Original post by jake.surfer

Well, I'd like to have big arms, chest (pecs), shoulders, six-pack, etc. Basically to have a fit and toned body. Preferably, I'd like to gain a lil' bit of muscle by this time next month (hence why I started swimming ages ago!).

Lift weights and eat lots of food. Do a tried and testing routine like Starting Strength, Strong Lifts 5x5, Westside for Skinny Bastards, or a basic three or four day upper/lower spit. What you need to do is horrifically simple, the hard part is sticking to it.

Swimming is pretty much useless for gaining muscle by the way.

Reply 28

ShreddedWeat

I've recently (as of Wednesday) begun the Starting Strength routine. I've read a lot of conflicting advice with regards to nutrition. Some say eat 6000 calories a day including a gallon of milk (GOMAD) and others say you need to eat above your maintenance by a mere 500-1000 calories. Considering my goal is to build size and muscle with minimal fat, which path should I follow?

In addition, I've read people criticising SS for developing the bottom half (bum, calves, hammys, quads etc) and neglecting the upper body. If I had to sacrifice one for the other it would be my lower body so should I pick another routine which targets upper body and arms/balances progression, or stick with SS?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Reply 29

Angry cucumber

20

You can swim and lift at the same time, you just have to be sensible about it. Lifting 3x a week on a programme as recommended on the FAQ as others have mentioned is a wise idea. Say you lift Monday, wednesday, friday. Then I would swim Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. If you're finding it too much and needing to eat more than you can handle. Drop one of the midweek swimming sessions.
Strength and muscle will only aid you in swimming. A stronger pull from a stronger shoulder girdle and lats; a stronger kick from all the leg work. You can rocket along when you lift and swim... source... me.
To quote Mark Bell iirc "Strength is never a weakness"

Original post by ShreddedWeat

I've recently (as of Wednesday) begun the Starting Strength routine. I've read a lot of conflicting advice with regards to nutrition. Some say eat 6000 calories a day including a gallon of milk (GOMAD) and others say you need to eat above your maintenance by a mere 500-1000 calories. Considering my goal is to build size and muscle with minimal fat, which path should I follow?

In addition, I've read people criticising SS for developing the bottom half (bum, calves, hammys, quads etc) and neglecting the upper body. If I had to sacrifice one for the other it would be my lower body so should I pick another routine which targets upper body and arms/balances progression, or stick with SS?

Any advice would be appreciated.

500 calories would be a wise surplus. Anymore will make you fat. If you're worried about the lack of upper body work, consider ICF5x5, look at Squirbs post at the beginning of this thread for links to the FAQ :smile:

Original post by SEHughes

Don't be lazy. You're not special, all the advice you could possibly need is already in the sticky post.