Hey fellas, I’m fairly new to TRP and I wanted to give back some advice based on my area of knowledge. Many people on TRP propagate the ‘“go lift” to improve yourself’ attitude, and I just want to make sure you guys are not doing it wrong and not wasting your potential, since it seems many people get inspired to lift close to when they swallow the pill. I’m a personal trainer, and I know a lot of people start out with zilch knowledge and just go lift for the good feeling of pressing a weight, thinking that it will transform them somehow, eventually.

There is 100x more fitness info out there than TRP stuff. I would consider these basic things everyone should know, even though there are hundreds of volumes written about probably every line in this post. Knowing that most people don’t/can’t dedicate more than maybe an hour a day to it (which is fine), I thought this might be helpful.

 

 

1) Have you been lifting for less than 9 months?

     a. If yes, your greatest bet is Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. Get the book if you love reading about the minutiae of human physiology. Otherwise read the SS wiki which has everything you need to know. The hardest part is learning the lifts, but they are critical.

           i. Reason: Decreasing rate of returns over time. You make essentially exponential gains in the first weeks/months of lifting, and the gains approach zero over time (10+ years). Use that time wisely: compound big lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, press, clean). Why? Hits every major muscle group, including the biggest (quads, core) in complex ways. Alternatively if you were doing bicep curls and calf raises, you would be wasting your adaptation period on tiny muscles. Lift wisely: Add glamour muscles as accessories and/or after months of SS.

       ii. This is a typical chart exemplifying amount of muscle gained per year when lifting. YMMV

         iii. 1st Year: 20-25lbs 2nd Year: 10-12lbs 3rd Year: 5-6lbs 4th Year: 2-3lbs 5th Year+: very little to any more muscle gained from here on out

 

       b. If no, and you generally know or think you know what you’re doing at the gym, then you’re here. If you have less than 6-9 months with the big SS lifts, I’d recommend to go and do SS still. Otherwise, this advice is for you (not necessary to follow for novices, their bodies are undergoing tremendous physical changes anyway):

          i. If you are eating at a caloric SURPLUS and doing a lifting routine, you will gain weight and gain muscle.

          ii. If you are eating at a caloric DEFICIT and doing the same routine, YOU WILL NOT GAIN MUSCLE. You will lose fat (ideally) and the lifting work is solely to Keep Muscle that’s already there from atrophy.

          iii. Body fat percentage: if your bf% is under 10%, you should generally try to put on weight (or maintain for the long term). Eat at a slight caloric surplus and lift. You put on muscle, but also (inevitably) some weight from fat.

                    1. Calorie Partitioning: Generally, for men, if your bf is under 15%, then most of the surplus calories you consume go into your body as muscle (assuming you’re lifting). If your bf is 15%+, most of it goes into fat (think of 15% as the 50-50 point). Thus the general rule of thumb is to never get above 15%. Also another note: if you’ve never been at sub-10%bf (chiseled 6-pack territory), getting there first will make it easier to get there again in the future for when you regain bf and want to drop again.

  

A note on diet: There are many schools of thought relating to what to put into your body and how much. I've personally had great success with IIFYM. I've heard of people having a ton of success with intermittent fasting, paleo, keto, etc. I really believe different things work for different people. Experiment a little and see what works for you (I don't know your body type and history, etc.) As the cliche goes, the best diet/program is the one you can stick with. Good starting point: Eliminate all refined sugar, only consume beverages that are water or coffee, start cutting out carbs. Rule of thumb: Make changes incrementally.

  

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions. Most of it can be googled, but I can link an article or send insight your way if you are unfamiliar with the search parameters relating to fitness (which is fine).