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Okay, so I've been fairly scrawny my entire life. Not necessarily un-atheletic, but simply not built. My new years resolution (before I got to college) has been to at *least* get a good understanding of how to work out/lift when I want to, especially since (most?) university gyms are free.
I have asked around, and so far I can't find a partner to work side by side with me. However, I have a friend who said he'd train me. His offer is I pay for his membership, and he trains me ~5 times a week (no additional charge). If I compared it to that of a personal trainer, he's basically working for ~$3 an hour, if we go 3-4 times a week.
Now, My question to you TL:
Even though I feel a bit weird paying a friend, is his deal worth it?
More so, is having someone train you really necessary / significantly better than doing it by yourself.
If I were to do it myself, where should I start? Learning regimens, form, etc. I do realize that there is a Fitness Initiative thread, but I don't really feel very well guided with the information I find, especially in a field I'm almost a complete stranger to.
Any additional advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
  
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There is tons of information online on workouts and what to do at the gym. (bodybuilding forum -> check this place out).
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United States261 Posts
Pick up starting strength. Read it. Then read it again.
Make sure you have good technique and form or bad shit will happen.
In order to get big, you gotta eat big. However, don't eat crap. Just eat lots of protein and veggies and some carbs.
I think asking your friend for pointers about your form on squats and other lifts might be a good idea. But don't pay for information you can probably find online.
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I can't work out on my own. I find it more enjoyable and easier when I have someone there either helping me, or coaching me.
If I go on my own, I don't really know what to do. I'd probably run on the treadmill for 3 hours then go home.
I don't know what to tell you if you're doing it on your own, but I'd say get your friend, or just someone else there. It makes it more enjoyable and easier to do. IMO.
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On January 05 2011 06:49 Akasha wrote:
Pick up starting strength. Read it. Then read it again.
Make sure you have good technique and form or bad shit will happen.
In order to get big, you gotta eat big. However, don't eat crap. Just eat lots of protein and veggies and some carbs.
I think asking your friend for pointers about your form on squats and other lifts might be a good idea. But don't pay for information you can probably find online.
Very important. I never lifted myself, but my brother did during HS. He was in Varsity football.
He told me that
1. Good technique is extremely important.
2. Start gradually and work at a good pace towards a goal. Break that goal into mini monthly goals to make it easier to achieve.
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You guys in Taiwan dont have "free" personal trainers for every one who pay for monthly membership ? In the gym where I used to go its like this: You go there 1st time he will come over and say hello ask you if you do any sports just chat and then he will give you some advice where you should start etc.
And i think thats all what your "friend" will do for you.
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On January 05 2011 07:01 NIIINO wrote:
You guys in Taiwan dont have "free" personal trainers for every one who pay for monthly membership ? In the gym where I used to go its like this: You go there 1st time he will come over and say hello ask you if you do any sports just chat and then he will give you some advice where you should start etc.
And i think thats all what your "friend" will do for you.
We don't have that in Canada either. o_O That I know of at least. o:
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not sure how you don't feel guided with the information you find in the fitness thread. pretty much one of the first things it says is if you want to gain muscle/mass, follow starting strength and (highly recommended) get the book (legally or otherwise) to figure out technique -- combined with youtube, and filming yourself, you'll do fine. ideally of course, you'd have someone who's good teaching you, but that's not always an option.
that's pretty much all you need to do. lift heavy, eat lots.
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Sorry, it's slightly misleading. I'm actually in the US, not Taiwan. Anyways, where I am right now, you have to hire a personal trainer by an hourly rate (As far as I know), and the average rate is something like $50-80USD per hour. That's definitely steep.
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Do waterpolo ( or go to swimming if you dont want to), you'll be more fit and stronger than with the stupid gym strategies which are very expensive.
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focus on compound exercises (one's that exercise multiple muscles, bench press, squat, deadlift, military press)
10 reps max, if you could possibly do 11 the weights are too light.
eat tons and tons, when you're full eat some more.
that's pretty much it, and browse www.bodybuilding.com forums.
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If your friend is knowledgeable about weight training, that sounds like a pretty good rate. Since you are paying, I think you should consult him frequently on techniques, form and training routines. Half the work in weight training is learning about it.
And as a tip, I can't emphasis this point enough: EAT. Read about nutrition and know the amount of protein in each type of food. No matter what type of training you do, you will only gain mass if you eat right.
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don't forget about those carbs.
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I would get the friend simply to help you get motivated. Sometimes, you really don't want to go work out, but having a friend waiting for you would help you stay on track.
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First of all, don't pay this guy. Secondly, find a better friend. The one you have is a miserable excuse.
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Quick pointers would be;
Look into Starting Strength or Stronglifts. Don't start out doing a bodybuilder split (meaning, you don't want a program which only trains one bodypart per day. Fullbody or a 2-split.) Learn how many calories you burn per day, then eat 500 more. 1g protein per pound of bodyweight. Try to add intensity to your workout every single time you go to the gym; if you end up chosing either SS or SL, this goes double. Gl hf.
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On January 05 2011 06:44 Archaic wrote:
Okay, so I've been fairly scrawny my entire life. Not necessarily un-atheletic, but simply not built. My new years resolution (before I got to college) has been to at *least* get a good understanding of how to work out/lift when I want to, especially since (most?) university gyms are free.
I have asked around, and so far I can't find a partner to work side by side with me. However, I have a friend who said he'd train me. His offer is I pay for his membership, and he trains me ~5 times a week (no additional charge). If I compared it to that of a personal trainer, he's basically working for ~$3 an hour, if we go 3-4 times a week.
Now, My question to you TL:
Even though I feel a bit weird paying a friend, is his deal worth it?
More so, is having someone train you really necessary / significantly better than doing it by yourself.
If I were to do it myself, where should I start? Learning regimens, form, etc. I do realize that there is a Fitness Initiative thread, but I don't really feel very well guided with the information I find, especially in a field I'm almost a complete stranger to.
Any additional advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
The fitness thread has literally everything you need from workouts (STARTING STRENGTH DO THIS) to nutrition to a ton of people (including me) that will help you with things like form and any questions you have.
Tell your friend to fuck off, i train with a ton of my friends teaching them form and whatnot for free, like a friend should.
And most trainers suck and will probably tell you to things you shouldnt be doing like body building splits.
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If your friend...
1) knows what he's doing
2) is willing to also teach as he trains you
3) which in turn, accelerates your learning process, then yes
Diet is probably more important than the actual training you are doing. It would be good if you added your age, weight, height in your OP so I could give you some specifics. However, if your goal is to gain weight, more importantly gain muscle, you need to overeat your BMR (basically the amount of calories your body burns if you laid around all day and performed zero physical exertion) by 500 calories a day. BMR+500 calories/day x 7 days in a week = +1lb of muscle. The most weight you're(a novice) going to be able to gain per week is 2lbs of muscle. This, of course, is dependent on how strictly you adhere to your diet. As a starting point, your diet should be broken down as such(personal opinion varies on these numbers, but it should be somewhere near this): 50% Carbohydrates, 35% Protein, 15% Fat(stay below 10grams of saturated fat.)
Your friend should be able to show you exercises but any bodybuilding forum should get you familiar with the basics. Make sure your friend shows you proper technique because novice lifters typically have weak cores and are prone to injury(especially if they are doing too much weight). Aim for your muscles to be sore the next day but not "shredded".
Good luck!
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On January 05 2011 07:19 SlyinZ wrote:
Do waterpolo ( or go to swimming if you dont want to), you'll be more fit and stronger than with the stupid gym strategies which are very expensive.
Ignore this guy.
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On January 05 2011 08:31 RiB wrote:
If your friend...
1) knows what he's doing
2) is willing to also teach as he trains you
3) which in turn, accelerates your learning process, then yes
Diet is probably more important than the actual training you are doing. It would be good if you added your age, weight, height in your OP so I could give you some specifics. However, if your goal is to gain weight, more importantly gain muscle, you need to overeat your BMR (basically the amount of calories your body burns if you laid around all day and performed zero physical exertion) by 500 calories a day. BMR+500 calories/day x 7 days in a week = +1lb of muscle. The most weight you're(a novice) going to be able to gain per week is 2lbs of muscle. This, of course, is dependent on how strictly you adhere to your diet. As a starting point, your diet should be broken down as such(personal opinion varies on these numbers, but it should be somewhere near this): 50% Carbohydrates, 35% Protein, 15% Fat(stay below 10grams of saturated fat.)
Your friend should be able to show you exercises but any bodybuilding forum should get you familiar with the basics. Make sure your friend shows you proper technique because novice lifters typically have weak cores and are prone to injury(especially if they are doing too much weight). Aim for your muscles to be sore the next day but not "shredded".
Good luck!
That will add 1 pound of weight. What he eats and how he trains will dictate whether it is fat or muscle. And 50% carbs 35%pro 15% fat is far far from ideal, and saturated fats promote testosterone levels which he definitely wants. Sat fats from healthy sources are exactly what he needs. See health & fitness thread for more info.
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On January 05 2011 07:47 news wrote:
First of all, don't pay this guy. Secondly, find a better friend. The one you have is a miserable excuse.
No way. Paying for a friend's gym membership in turn for a lot of work from him is a standard quid pro quo (assuming he knows what he's talking about) between friends. It's the same as a friend helping you move, and then you take him out for dinner, etc. The deal in question sounds like a good deal, IMO.
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On January 05 2011 08:45 munchmunch wrote:Show nested quote +On January 05 2011 07:47 news wrote:
First of all, don't pay this guy. Secondly, find a better friend. The one you have is a miserable excuse. No way. Paying for a friend's gym membership in turn for a lot of work from him is a standard quid pro quo (assuming he knows what he's talking about) between friends. It's the same as a friend helping you move, and then you take him out for dinner, etc. The deal in question sounds like a good deal, IMO.
yeah assuming his friend knows what he's doing
although the OP implies that his friend wants him to train 5x/week (im guessing a bodybuilding split) for a novice, which kind of renders that assumption moot
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How in the world do I learn good technique with dumbells and one of those standard weights benches?
I feel my balance holding weights isn't working the correct muscles even when I do a standard curls. My biceps are only starting out so is it just that all the surrounding muscle groups need to get to a decent size/strength before I'd be able to focus a bicep curl on my bicep for example?
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On January 05 2011 09:49 Adeeler wrote:
How in the world do I learn good technique with dumbells and one of those standard weights benches?
I feel my balance holding weights isn't working the correct muscles even when I do a standard curls. My biceps are only starting out so is it just that all the surrounding muscle groups need to get to a decent size/strength before I'd be able to focus a bicep curl on my bicep for example?
Nobody learning how to lift weights should be doing bicep curls with dumbells. They're literally the least important thing you could do. You need to build a strong foundation of strength and mass from core, compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench, powerclean, pull ups etc).
I can not iterate this enough to any beginning lifters, or even people who have spent a lot of time in the gym misguided, STARTING STRENGTH!
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki
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this will offer you more help than your friend can offer you free of charge
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Seriously, spend an hour or two reading the fitness thread and SS and it's your shit friend who should be paying you for pointers. He has nothing to offer you that you should be paying for.
On January 05 2011 07:19 SlyinZ wrote:
Do waterpolo ( or go to swimming if you dont want to), you'll be more fit and stronger than with the stupid gym strategies which are very expensive.
Yeah, just get mean ripped doing the breaststroke. I like to assume everyone at the gym has this much knowledge of what they're talking about on the subject until they prove otherwise. Find a real friend who's interested in learning with you and your progress and motivation will grow even faster.
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On January 05 2011 08:34 decafchicken wrote:Show nested quote +On January 05 2011 08:31 RiB wrote:
If your friend...
1) knows what he's doing
2) is willing to also teach as he trains you
3) which in turn, accelerates your learning process, then yes
Diet is probably more important than the actual training you are doing. It would be good if you added your age, weight, height in your OP so I could give you some specifics. However, if your goal is to gain weight, more importantly gain muscle, you need to overeat your BMR (basically the amount of calories your body burns if you laid around all day and performed zero physical exertion) by 500 calories a day. BMR+500 calories/day x 7 days in a week = +1lb of muscle. The most weight you're(a novice) going to be able to gain per week is 2lbs of muscle. This, of course, is dependent on how strictly you adhere to your diet. As a starting point, your diet should be broken down as such(personal opinion varies on these numbers, but it should be somewhere near this): 50% Carbohydrates, 35% Protein, 15% Fat(stay below 10grams of saturated fat.)
Your friend should be able to show you exercises but any bodybuilding forum should get you familiar with the basics. Make sure your friend shows you proper technique because novice lifters typically have weak cores and are prone to injury(especially if they are doing too much weight). Aim for your muscles to be sore the next day but not "shredded".
Good luck! That will add 1 pound of weight. What he eats and how he trains will dictate whether it is fat or muscle. And 50% carbs 35%pro 15% fat is far far from ideal, and saturated fats promote testosterone levels which he definitely wants. Sat fats from healthy sources are exactly what he needs. See health & fitness thread for more info.
1) The caloric ratio I presented is not far far from ideal. What is your definition of "far far" and "ideal"?
2) There are about 10 other food sources that increase testosterone, saturated fat is probably the worst way to "naturally boost testosterone levels" (which is, in most every case besides anabolic steroid use, negligible at best).
3) Unless your diet is WAY OFF (eg. 60% Fat, 30% Carbs, 10% Protein), training patterns always dictate what kind of weight you put on.
Please don't spread misinformation.
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This actually sounds like a really good deal, assuming that he's pretty jacked himself. It's always always better to lift with a partner that knows what to do and can encourage you during the workout.
Although I agree that a better friend would pay for himself and coach you for free, this is still a very very good deal imo and as long as you have the finances to comfortably afford it, you should snap call.
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It's always better to go with some one who is experienced and knows what he is doing so he can help you climb and motivate at the same time. I go with my brother all the time and he is much more experience than me he can easily give me instant pointers and even spot me which is good as getting stronger would require a increase of weight often. Although, my brother is quite experienced and got by far a better shape/size than most people I know so his criticism I take to heart for me and he isn't wrong.
You could either find a good person to go along with you or doing by yourself won't be that difficult long as you can push yourself. Also, don't be afraid to ask some one spot you for your heavy sets as I know there will be a lot of people willing to help you there, I've spotted a lot of regulars at the GYM it can be a nice place.
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On January 05 2011 08:29 decafchicken wrote:Show nested quote +On January 05 2011 06:44 Archaic wrote:
Okay, so I've been fairly scrawny my entire life. Not necessarily un-atheletic, but simply not built. My new years resolution (before I got to college) has been to at *least* get a good understanding of how to work out/lift when I want to, especially since (most?) university gyms are free.
I have asked around, and so far I can't find a partner to work side by side with me. However, I have a friend who said he'd train me. His offer is I pay for his membership, and he trains me ~5 times a week (no additional charge). If I compared it to that of a personal trainer, he's basically working for ~$3 an hour, if we go 3-4 times a week.
Now, My question to you TL:
Even though I feel a bit weird paying a friend, is his deal worth it?
More so, is having someone train you really necessary / significantly better than doing it by yourself.
If I were to do it myself, where should I start? Learning regimens, form, etc. I do realize that there is a Fitness Initiative thread, but I don't really feel very well guided with the information I find, especially in a field I'm almost a complete stranger to.
Any additional advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
The fitness thread has literally everything you need from workouts ( STARTING STRENGTH DO THIS) to nutrition to a ton of people (including me) that will help you with things like form and any questions you have. Tell your friend to fuck off, i train with a ton of my friends teaching them form and whatnot for free, like a friend should. And most trainers suck and will probably tell you to things you shouldnt be doing like body building splits.
Whats wrong with body building splits? I'm a newbie I'll admit that but I'm gaining quite a lot of weight, some may be fat, but I can feel large amounts of muscle growth that I couldn't get while on SS. I'm also gaining strength too, so really a newbie can do what ever the fuck he wants because noob gains help you pack on muscle and strength.
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On January 11 2011 08:55 Alexson wrote:Show nested quote +On January 05 2011 08:29 decafchicken wrote:On January 05 2011 06:44 Archaic wrote:
Okay, so I've been fairly scrawny my entire life. Not necessarily un-atheletic, but simply not built. My new years resolution (before I got to college) has been to at *least* get a good understanding of how to work out/lift when I want to, especially since (most?) university gyms are free.
I have asked around, and so far I can't find a partner to work side by side with me. However, I have a friend who said he'd train me. His offer is I pay for his membership, and he trains me ~5 times a week (no additional charge). If I compared it to that of a personal trainer, he's basically working for ~$3 an hour, if we go 3-4 times a week.
Now, My question to you TL:
Even though I feel a bit weird paying a friend, is his deal worth it?
More so, is having someone train you really necessary / significantly better than doing it by yourself.
If I were to do it myself, where should I start? Learning regimens, form, etc. I do realize that there is a Fitness Initiative thread, but I don't really feel very well guided with the information I find, especially in a field I'm almost a complete stranger to.
Any additional advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
The fitness thread has literally everything you need from workouts ( STARTING STRENGTH DO THIS) to nutrition to a ton of people (including me) that will help you with things like form and any questions you have. Tell your friend to fuck off, i train with a ton of my friends teaching them form and whatnot for free, like a friend should. And most trainers suck and will probably tell you to things you shouldnt be doing like body building splits. Whats wrong with body building splits? I'm a newbie I'll admit that but I'm gaining quite a lot of weight, some may be fat, but I can feel large amounts of muscle growth that I couldn't get while on SS. I'm also gaining strength too, so really a newbie can do what ever the fuck he wants because noob gains help you pack on muscle and strength.
There is so much wrong with this T_T
He is a beginner and he is looking to stop being scrawny. All beginners need to start off with a solid weightlifting foundation from the compound lifts before they move on to other areas. Also, SS is a phenomenal way to pack on muscle mass. If you werent seeing gains from it that means you weren't eating properly or not working out properly. You can get gains doing pretty much anything from the novice effect, but building that foundation on compound lifts is by far the safest and easiest way to accomplish this. Once he's done the program for a while and decides his goals are volume vs strength or power or whatever, then it would be good for him to switch to a body building split.
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EPT
