"Go lift"

Ochreata · 2014-06-14T22:42:04+00:00

I started lifting two months ago. I can tell you a bit about my experiences if you care. I'm in progress from going from pussy kid to man.

Before Starting: Before starting I was probably TRP's worst nightmare. I played video games all day with literally no supervision, I lived completely at home and ordered pizza constantly from my mom's credit card, I was depressed and had no friends. Was 178 pounds 5'10 with 28% BMI. I literally never left my house. Then after over a year of ego-masturbating to theredpill and being in denial I made my changes.

Diet: I'm now on a meat + rice + egg + bread + peanut butter + veggie diet. I've lost only a few pounds but my BMI has been almost halved (meaning my fat has been replaced with muscle). I also drink whey twice a day and take zync, vitamin D, B, and C.

Starting out: What I did when I first went to the gym is just improvise. I tried out as many machines as I could and when I got a bit more confident I started lifting. I'm 18 years old so I started with 10-12 dumbells which were really heavy for me at the time. I did mainly biceps, I ignored the bars and just did bicep and shoulder stuff and then used the machines for delts, triceps, and legs.

Progress: As far as physical progress, I'm now benching 100 lbs if I'm doing high weight low reps or if not I do 70 pounds if I'm doing low weight high reps. Pretty insignificant, but it technically is an infinite increase from not being able to bench the bar. I'm using 20-25 pound dumbells and when I started out I couldn't even lift the 15's. I don't use machines for arms or chest or delts anymore. I just use the leg machines.

The other day I met a cool guy (who was ripped) who gave me a ride home from the gym since it was storming outside and he suggested I do 100 pushups before going to bed. He suggested if I can't do all 100 at once, do sets of 25. If I can't do sets of 25, then sets of 10, if I can't do sets of 10, then sets of 5. The point was to get the hundred any way possible. So I've been doing that for about three days.

Results I could care less about how I look. How I feel is fucking astonishing. Shit came up the other day and my adrenaline was going and I had to sprint somewhere and I had no idea my body could go that fast. It kinda blew my mind how much progress I had made in such a short amount of time. My life has made such a drastic change and I owe a lot of it to this sub. If I keep it up I'll be an entirely different person a year from now.

OKJaded · 2014-06-14T18:23:04+00:00

Im going to make this as simple as possible.

You need to just get started. Transformations take a long time. Don't worry about a plan as much as just going and doing it. Get a personal trainer/coach at first. Yes its expensive but it will help. Don't get one from the gym you are going to (in my experience they know less than I do).

Why a trainer? You need to learn good form for the olympic lifts (squat, deadlift, clean, jerk) right out of the gate. Improper squats and deadlift will set you way back and leave you frustrated. You can probably get most of this from a crossfit gym these days. However... I've noticed some crossfitters with shitty form, they are a bit faster now, but their knees will be blown out in 20 years. If you can, learn from a power lifter or someone who competes in the olympic lifts.

Oh one last thing. When I started going to the gym as a toothpick I felt out of place. That all the jacked guys must be making fun of me. That was just my fucked up self doubt. When I see a newbie starting to workout now I think "Good on them! I hope they keep it up." Because thats the key. Just keep doing it day after day after day.

With that said, don't come bother me in the gym while I'm working out. It gets me out of the zone and I dont like to talk to people while Im working out.

TL;DR Working out consistently with good form is more important than a specific plan. 5 days a week, as hard as you can, great form.

RPModulator · 2014-06-15T03:58:34+00:00

Stronglifts is a nice 5x5 routine. If you are going to being doing compound lifts, especially deads and squats, make sure that you get your form down before you start going heavy. If that requires getting an experienced trainer to help you with the form, do it. Your joints will thank you.

KaleTross · 2014-06-14T18:34:14+00:00

I think an online lifting community is what helped me the most when I was starting out. The culture of lifting will essentially brainwash you to the point where you can't imagine quitting picking up heavy things and putting them back down.

On that note I learned visiting an online community that exhibits attributes I like to see in my self is an ffective mode of self improvement. Hence why I'm here.

everyone_wins · 2014-06-14T18:45:38+00:00

I personally recommend a book called "body by science" by Doug McGuff. He's a doctor and bodybuilder and provides peer reviewed research studies to support his claims.

For weight loss I recommend intermittent fasting. There's a book called "eat stop eat" that gives information on the benefits of fasting, also supported by citations of peer reviewed research studies.

Start with that routine. You will lose weight quick. If you want to exercise more, then do just enough cardiovascular exercise to get your endorphins going. For me I like to jog for about five kilometers at a eight minute mile pace. Doing that nearly every day will cause you to lose weight quick.

Axotl · 2014-06-14T16:34:37+00:00

I do something like 5x5 or SS, have done for a few years now. I like to think I look great. It's not actually for the sport of powerlifting, and it will do more to increase your strength and mass than virtually every other program for those relatively new to lifting (under three years). After lifters have exhausted their initial couple of years, they often move onto the texas method or Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program. Google those two to find out more.

Barbell work is absolutely the most important thing to do in terms of hypertrophy and strength training. I know isolation exercises have their uses, but I always felt I should be working my entire posterier chain instead when I'm wasting 5-10 minutes on fiddly isolations.

elduckbell · 2014-06-14T19:43:12+00:00

Dont worry about trying to "occupy the full hour." 5x5 is great because its about big lifts that work many muscles at once. The alternative is many isolation exercises. Thatll take all day, but its not efficient use of your time.

Also see IIFYM. Weight loss is 80% nutrition, 20% exercise.

icanteventhecat · 2014-06-14T20:51:04+00:00

I'm a big fan of bodyweight/calisthenics, especially for beginners and guys who do not like the gym. I'm currently using this routine. As you can see, unless you are severely disabled, there is no reason why you can't start this. All you need is a pull-up bar and furniture. The drawbacks are that you're not going to get swole doing this, and at some point, lower-body development will stall (only so many one-legged squats you can do without adding weight).

In a few months, I've gone from zero pull-ups to 12. I can almost do single-arm push-ups. My vertical jump has increased nearly one foot (which is useful for a 5'5'' beach volleyball player).

retsage · 2014-06-14T19:09:10+00:00

There's a reason Starting Strength and Strong Lifts are always recommended: they work. Pick one, make sure you have good form, and start tonight.

Groshub · 2014-06-14T22:09:19+00:00

Coming from a bodybuilder, the best thing you can do to start with in my opinion is actually a 5x5 routine consisting of the major lifts like squat, bench, dead, OHP, etc. Though on top of that you wanna add on accessory muscle isolation bullshit, like curls and tricep extensions, pull ups and what have you for everything else. Best of luck OP

Wheyman92 · 2014-06-14T22:29:37+00:00

I'm 5'9 190 at like 14% bf, turning 22. I've been training since november 26th 2012 (I still remember the day). I had a tendonitis injury flare up and was out for 6 months, eventually had surgery. I was 150 at 18% when I started.

You can do it. Big lifts are important if you're trying to get strong, if you're not, they dont really matter. Barbell bench press does shit for my chest. Deadlifts are great. OHP definitely works. Squats are okay for my quads, but I have seen more growth with other exercises.

Following some stronglift, SS, 5x5, program might be good for you but your goals are whats going to determine it.

If you want to get big follow a bodybuilding split, PPL, twice a week, 6 days a week. Incorporate the big lifts if you want. GO for volume and moderate weight. FEEL THE REPS. If you want to get big and look good you want to be a bodybuilder, not a weightlifter. Powerlifters are strong as fuck and the majority of them look like shit (except maybe Dan Green, dat dere trenbolona doe).

Get your diet in check, find your macros, hit them. Do IFFYM unless you're trying to cut.

Sorry if this is all jumbled up, but sometimes when I see posts like this I just want to say "shut up and just go pick shit up" its not fucking hard.

cbnyc0 · 2014-06-15T03:34:08+00:00

There isn't a good gym near me, so I got a pair of 25 lbs. dumbbells and an iPad app called VT Dumbbell with instructions for proper lifting that I can use while I'm watching TV in my own living room.

Thrust_s4 · 2014-06-15T05:10:53+00:00

Here's a piece of advice that I wish I could apply more often:

Feed your ego outside the gym. As many others have said, learning proper technique often requires you lift less weight than what you may otherwise believe challenging. If you can only deadlift 95 lbs. with proper form (you'll need to use a box to achieve proper bar height), then do so. You might start slow, but you'll avoid injury and quickly surpass those who lift heavy but use bad form.

abXcv · 2014-06-15T13:04:32+00:00

People rag on 4chan and /fit/ a lot on reddit, but they actually have some really solid lifting advice.

Read This and This, then buy/torrent a copy of the book Starting Strength and read that too.

scarfox1 · 2014-06-18T02:13:20+00:00

Fuck it, do a bro split. Especially if you already did SS. The people I see getting ripped are people who don't go by 3 or 4 days of rest rule. They workout almost every day and isolate if they want. Tonnes of protein and cardio though. I just play basketball for a few hours a week. The illegal version of jack3d for focus.

2014-06-14T15:49:36+00:00

Have you done 5x5?

I'm on a good streak with 5x5 and running and calisthenics on my "rest days."

You won't be overweight for long, and you'll be able to keep up as long as you're getting good sleep and you're still mostly training your nervous response.

mtndewlover · 2014-06-14T16:46:52+00:00

I really enjoyed, and still occasionally enjoy, the splits my coach had me do in high school. One day is back and biceps (centered around a deadlift and power clean), the second day is chest, triceps, and shoulders (centered around a flat or incline bench), the third day is legs (centered around the back squat). The first two weeks you do 3 x 10, the second 2-3 weeks you do 3 x 15. The fourth, fifth, and sixth weeks you drop it to 3 x8. the last 2 weeks, 5 x 5 or 3 x 5. Seventh week, you max out. Then you rest a week, and start over again. Put in your hours, don't fuck around and rest no more than 2 minutes between exercises, except maybe in the heavy weeks.

I don't know how scientific it is, and generally prefer heavier routines perpetually at this point (I'd rather be stronger and smaller than weaker, bigger, and more vain -- I have body image issues, and if I let myself go I'll go nuts in a bad way). But I do remember that with this routine it's pretty easy to put in a solid hour, or hour and half. Good for mental toughness too. An hour and fifteen minute leg routine, as long as you don't succumb to fuckarounditis, is devastating. On back day, you almost always feel like you've injured yourself for about 2 hours after (that's how you know it's working). It never left much of an impression on chest day, for some reason, but that might be because I have personal issues around chest day which makes it my least favorite.

schoolsterz · 2014-06-15T03:22:20+00:00

I know it wont be for a lot of people, but honestly try to build general athleticism instead of just lifting heavy weights.

Hit the field 4 days a week and do sprints/agility/drills in conjunction with lifts. Become an athlete rather than just an unconditioned piece of meat.

CL_Smooth · 2014-06-14T15:40:35+00:00

Alternate 4 months 5x5 for cns training with 4 months heavy body part isolation doing 2 muscle split 3-4 days or better, high sets and 8 rep range, and another 4 months of body parts with less intensity and cardio to cut fat. Can't go wrong unless you have a rapid rapid metabolism, then dump the cardio.

JohnGalt316 · 2014-06-15T05:54:40+00:00

everyone wants to talk about routines and diets, no one wants to lift some heavy-ass weights

less talking more lifting

smokingmonkey420 · 2014-06-15T11:52:43+00:00

Just lift. You'll figure it out.

Panzer_Geist · 2014-06-14T21:34:29+00:00

If you're a overweight start by losing that weight, do cardio. Ride a bike, walk, swim. Start lifting once you lost the fat otherwise you'll look like one of those nasty fat guys who thinks they are buff.

NYJets7 · 2014-06-15T00:47:09+00:00

Dont waste your time lifting. Put on some running shoes and go for a 5 mile run. Everyday

Title	"Go lift"
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	9
Comments	40
Date	June 14, 2014 2:38 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/TheRedPill
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/TheRedPill/comments/284sjh/go_lift/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/TheRedPill/go-lift.16678 https://theredarchive.com/post/16678

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