Anyone have advice for a newbie to lifting?

[Fryer]

I am an 18 year old male 5’5” and around 125 lbs (I don’t have a scale so I cannot give an exact number). My family advised me to join a gym and build muscle. Now I am not underweight and in good health, but my body has a predisposition to store fat in my thighs rather than torso and limbs, making me look anorexic in a way (no offense to people with ED). I am quite dissatisfied with my body and intend on following their advice; I have no experience with strength training but my father (a lifter himself) recommended lifting 4x a week and focusing on major body parts each day (hitting chest, arms, legs, and back). My father is obese due to his large appetite, but I can’t help but feel that he is trustworthy as he is quite muscular and could pass as a bodybuilder if you ignore his abdomen. I intend on upping my caloric and protein intake to gain some weight on top of hitting the weights. 

 

To anyone who was formerly skinny and became a lifter, any advice for making good progress? I am unsure if it is bad to eat at a too high of a surplus. To my knowledge your macro ratio doesn’t matter as long as protein is sufficient but I need some clarification on that.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

1. Protein is indeed a must. You will struggle to get the recommended daily intake of protein so start looking at Protein powder to help make it easier to hit that quota.

2. For Skinny guys, the way to go is to eat at a caloric surplus of about 500 calories compared to your basal metabolic rate.

3. As a beginner, do not fret too much about how much weight you can lift early one. Beginners have an easy time seeing results when they start out so just focus on finding exercises you like and benefit you and then work on getting stronger.

4. Do try progressive overload when you get comfortable but do not overdo it and remember that things take time.

5. As a skinny guy, when you start getting stronger you should aim to do compound exercises such as pull-ups and deadlfts.

6. Ask for help when yo'u're not sure about something. Lots of folks were in your situation at some point in their life and wouldn't mind helping you out.

Edited February 27, 2018 by Dr. Tarrasque

[Fryer]

14 minutes ago, Dr. Tarrasque said:

1. Protein is indeed a must. You will struggle to get the recommended daily intake of protein so start looking at Protein powder to help make it easier to hit that quota.

2. For Skinny guys, the way to go is to eat at a caloric surplus of about 500 calories compared to your basal metabolic rate.

3. As a beginner, do not fret too much about how much weight you can lift early one. Beginners have an easy time seeing results when they start out so just focus on finding exercises you like and benefit you and then work on getting stronger.

4. Do try progressive overload when you get comfortable but do not overdo it and remember that things take time.

5. As a skinny guy, when you start getting stronger you should aim to do compound exercises such as pull-ups and deadlfts.

6. Ask for help when yo'u're not sure about something. Lots of folks were in your situation at some point in their life and wouldn't mind helping you out.

Fair enough. I live in an Asian household and my idea of getting in extra calories was to simply add in a serving of rice and take a protein shake daily while making my portion sizes bigger. Is there any common mistakes a beginner must avoid? 

[Captain Karnage]

I recommend a cross fit gym if you can

Though I'm trying to loose weight (about 12 pounds atm) I do a lot through diet and exercise

I'd say that you should work out 5 days a week, and do a lot of running as that will help build up stamina which will in turn help you lift longer

2 hours ago, Fryer said:

Fair enough. I live in an Asian household and my idea of getting in extra calories was to simply add in a serving of rice and take a protein shake daily while making my portion sizes bigger. Is there any common mistakes a beginner must avoid?

eat a lot more meats and vegetables, carbs are good but don't take in too much

 Protein shakes, read what's inside of them and make sure that's the nutrients 

and don't skip leg day

[Sentacotus]

Lower reps higher in weight if you're looking to build strength and get a little more muscle mass.  (though starting out don't overdo it for obvious reasons)

Use a spotter especially starting out.

Don't skip leg day no matter how much it sucks.

Take your protein though not too much.  You want to be at a 3:1 ratio carbs to protein and try to keep the protein shake intake between 20-22g as thats about how much your body can absorb at a time the rest just ends up getting wasted.

[Fryer]

10 hours ago, Dr. Tarrasque said:

1. Protein is indeed a must. You will struggle to get the recommended daily intake of protein so start looking at Protein powder to help make it easier to hit that quota.

2. For Skinny guys, the way to go is to eat at a caloric surplus of about 500 calories compared to your basal metabolic rate.

3. As a beginner, do not fret too much about how much weight you can lift early one. Beginners have an easy time seeing results when they start out so just focus on finding exercises you like and benefit you and then work on getting stronger.

4. Do try progressive overload when you get comfortable but do not overdo it and remember that things take time.

5. As a skinny guy, when you start getting stronger you should aim to do compound exercises such as pull-ups and deadlfts.

6. Ask for help when yo'u're not sure about something. Lots of folks were in your situation at some point in their life and wouldn't mind helping you out.

This process doesn't seem as complicated as I thought, I take it consistency is key?

Anyways, I am a college student that commutes and a particular class I have on Thursdays keeps me in school all day long which is a problem because the gym I will be joining is located near my home, off-campus. Does the day you work out matter as long as I lift multiple times per week? I know that there are several programs that exist but from I have read, muscle building is no problem as long as you commit to progressive overload on top of a caloric and protein surplus.

[Deltre]

Rest days are equally important, so if you know in advance that Thursdays will be a problem then I'd consider using that as a rest day. As a beginner, depending on how intense your routine is, you may want to rest every other day (so 4 days on, 3 days off). That said, since you won't be focusing on the same muscle groups twice in a row, it's okay to go on back to back days if you can handle it.

While cardio is extremely important for people trying to lose weight, it shouldn't be neglected in your routine either. A quick 10-15 minutes on a treadmill before you start your training proper is always a good idea. On off days, make sure you're keeping up on cardio as well. As someone else had said, it will increase your endurance substantially while lifting if done regularly. 

Adding to that, breathing is incredibly important and how you do (or don't) do it can directly effect the ability to complete your workout. Breathe out when you are exerting force, breathe in on the release. It sounds trivial, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Good form is key. Since you're new you don't likely have any bad habits in need of correction, so just take care that when you're learning how to do something, you learn how to do it the right way. Bad form can lead to underwhelming results over time, or even injury in some cases.

Generally speaking, for every 1lb that you weigh, you should be eating 1g of protein. If you weigh 125 lbs, that's a minimum of 125 grams of protein every day.

It's always better to work out than to not work out. Even if you're having an off day, do what you can.

Seriously, don't skip leg day.

 

Edited February 28, 2018 by Deltre

[Fryer]

1 hour ago, Deltre said:

Rest days are equally important, so if you know in advance that Thursdays will be a problem then I'd consider using that as a rest day. As a beginner, depending on how intense your routine is, you may want to rest every other day (so 4 days on, 3 days off). That said, since you won't be focusing on the same muscle groups twice in a row, it's okay to go on back to back days if you can handle it.

While cardio is extremely important for people trying to lose weight, it shouldn't be neglected in your routine either. A quick 10-15 minutes on a treadmill before you start your training proper is always a good idea. On off days, make sure you're keeping up on cardio as well. As someone else had said, it will increase your endurance substantially while lifting if done regularly. 

Adding to that, breathing is incredibly important and how you do (or don't) do it can directly effect the ability to complete your workout. Breathe out when you are exerting force, breathe in on the release. It sounds trivial, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Good form is key. Since you're new you don't likely have any bad habits in need of correction, so just take care that when you're learning how to do something, you learn how to do it the right way. Bad form can lead to underwhelming results over time, or even injury in some cases.

Generally speaking, for every 1lb that you weigh, you should be eating 1g of protein. If you weigh 125 lbs, that's a minimum of 125 grams of protein every day.

It's always better to work out than to not work out. Even if you're having an off day, do what you can.

Seriously, don't skip leg day.

 

The gym that is financially available for me has a smith machine rather than squat racks or benches within the free weight area. Is this a problem for building muscle?

Edited February 28, 2018 by Fryer

[Deltre]

14 hours ago, Fryer said:

The gym that is financially available for me has a smith machine rather than squat racks or benches within the free weight area. Is this a problem for building muscle?

Nah, that's fine. Again though, watch the form, particularly your back/knees in this case. I had a buddy lose control while squatting on a smith machine before...not a fun experience from what I understand. 

EDIT: Oh yeah, one more thing: stretching your target muscles before/after a workout (nothing serious, just a few minutes worth should be adequate) can help prevent soreness as well as injury.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Deltre

[Fryer]

11 hours ago, Deltre said:

Nah, that's fine. Again though, watch the form, particularly your back/knees in this case. I had a buddy lose control while squatting on a smith machine before...not a fun experience from what I understand. 

EDIT: Oh yeah, one more thing: stretching your target muscles before/after a workout (nothing serious, just a few minutes worth should be adequate) can help prevent soreness as well as injury.

Okay so I officially got myself a membership and as I was taking a tour of the gym, I was informed that the smith machine they have available is actually customized in that it can move left and right in addition to up and down. I know that smith machines are not optimal, but I'll work with what I have and I'm sure that I could make decent progress. Does the smith machine moving left to right have any advantages?

[Deltre]

14 hours ago, Fryer said:

Okay so I officially got myself a membership and as I was taking a tour of the gym, I was informed that the smith machine they have available is actually customized in that it can move left and right in addition to up and down. I know that smith machines are not optimal, but I'll work with what I have and I'm sure that I could make decent progress. Does the smith machine moving left to right have any advantages?

I'm sure you could ask someone down at your gym, they'd be able to tell you better than I could. I've honestly not used a smith machine that moves horizontally before so besides some educated guesses idk really.