New and confused

[jerryio]

Hey guys,

Finally decided to join a gym and try and add some bulk. however I'm just very confused on what routine to go for, there are thousands on here and everyone tells me something different. I'm worried to start a routine that would be wrong and ends up disheartening me.

Any advise on a good intermediate level routine (been to gyms before just infrequent and not taking it seriously) that would be good. Bare in mind I'm rather slim and not strong at all as yet.

thanks all
K

[OptikaNET]

To be honest, as a starting point, you'd be best off asking the staff at the gym to put a routine together for you and programming it into JEFIT. Then, in a few months, if you want to change you'll have had chance to browse the JEFIT site, got a feel for the kinds of workouts others are doing on here (read some of the log blogs in the "Personal Logs" section) or had a look at routines as they are posted.

I'm sure someone will be along in a moment suggesting "Do this one." and that's perfectly valid, but there is something to be said for having someone at the gym design something for you. They know what equipment they have and should be able to put something together that suits any particular needs you may have. More importantly they will be able to show you the correct form and techique. You say that you've used gyms before, but even the most experienced of us have a tendancy to slip into bad habits and can benefit from having a fresh perspective from time to time!

Kind Regards
Dave

[jerryio]

Gym I'm in at the moment only has staff for personal training and not routine design, etc. It's why I started to browse the net for advise.

[OptikaNET]

I think a lot of people starting out in the gym think "Oh, I'll do this routine from this magazine" or something which is fine in - say January - when a lot of magazines are running beginners tutorials for the "New Years Resolution" crowd, but otherwise for many it's too much too soon. Even for people like yourself with gym experience.

There's always that temptation to achieve results fast by hitting the weights hard, but in all honesty if you start off slow you'll still see remarkable improvements very quickly and you can soon scale up your gym activity to something more challenging, but you can take the opportunity to make good habits and avoid that ever-present risk of injury. I swear, a quarter of the people I see regularly in the gym are going to kill themselves before the year is out, and most of them will not see any real growth because they're training wrongly anyway.

Gym staff deal with new folk all the time. The routine they give you may be the same one they give all newcomers, the same one they show people day in day out, but that's because it's tried-and-trusted and known to give good results. The core of even an advanced user's routines tends to include the same standard exercises as Bench Press, Deadlifts, Lateral Pulldowns, Pullups, Triceps Extensions, Squats, Biceps Curls anyway and in all probability that's what will be in the routine the gym shows you.

Kind Regards
Dave

[Jimmy0]

If you just want to gain some basic strength to begin with, I would recommend following either the StrongLifts program, or the StartingStrengh one. They are essentially the same thing.

You have 5 core lifts (Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Rows, Standing Press) and cycle them in a 3 times a week routine. Doing either of these routines you would certainly see some great strength improvements over the first 6 months. (Especially if you start with the weight low as you are supposed too)

[OptikaNET]

That's unusual. In the UK at least, programme design is part of the membership/induction process and is extended to all new members. In addition, members can usually book an "update" to their programme at any time, without additional charge. Personal training, though, has to be paid for. This has been the case in all gyms I've belonged to.

Obviously I don't know what the situation is in the US or elsewhere. It's actually part of the health and saftey regulations in the UK, I think, that gyms have to ensure that members know how to use the equipment (it's probably required by their business insurance as well), and so an induction is mandatory and a routine-design is usually part of that process.

Kind Regards
Dave

[jerryio]

Not my gym. You have the option to have an induction or not. And they aren't obligated to give you that start-up routine. If you want it you have to pay one of the personal trainers to do it for you.
Which leaves me in a situation of not sure where to start really.. I'm not a complete beginner as I did gym before, but never for a specific goal like bulking up.. its why I need the help and advise please

[OptikaNET]

If you have the means, I would still recommend you pay for the personal trainer - even if it's just one session.

Although I understand your language barrier problems!!!

Kind Regards
Dave

[mwolfe09]

Check out bodybuilding.com, search for Jim Stappani or Kris Grthin.

Both very popular and great routines. Just finished Kris and now doing Jim.

Good luck,

[Jasonhannen]

If you just want to gain some basic strength to begin with, I would recommend following either the StrongLifts program, or the StartingStrengh one. They are essentially the same thing.

You have 5 core lifts (Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Rows, Standing Press) and cycle them in a 3 times a week routine. Doing either of these routines you would certainly see some great strength improvements over the first 6 months. (Especially if you start with the weight low as you are supposed too)

^ THIS

Like you I messed about in the gym for a long time with no real gains, I started 5x5 and the results my Gym buddy and I are seeing are extremely pleasing.

I am setting new personal bests every week and seeing steady muscle growth.

Like Mr Wolfe said there are also some good programmes on bodybuilding.com

The Best advice is dont just pick any old programme pick a programme that is proven to yield results and endorsed by professionals.

Start Light, be consistent and log all your progress on JEFIT