So as the title says, just looking for any advice on moving on from being a complete newbie. I've been working out for about 4 months and have hit a bit of a plateau. So far I have lost about 10 lbs and ~5% body fat. That being said my routine has gotten static, and of course results the same. The thing is I don't have a ton of time to be going to the gym all the time so I've been trying to throw home workouts in there now too. I'm not saying I'm super hardcore or anything either.. I've been reading about it, different exercises and routines and have just this last workout switched to supersets with dumbells for most of my workout. Also I need to start doing deadlift at the least, more core kinda strengthening. My knees suck. Supersets seem good tho, pretty sore today. Don't think I need to really do much more cardio either, I do about 10 min warmup and another 20/25 at the end. I'm pretty active all the time anyway too. Anything you can offer is much appreciated. thanks guys. Trying to get that motivation goin
What exactly are your goals? To lose fat or build muscle? You can really only do one at a time unless you're a complete noob (when you can build muscle and lose bodyfat at the same time because all that work is so new to your body). But people don't generally hit a plateau for a year or even two after starting. Just to quickly define what a plateau really is, it is when you cannot increase the weights in your normal sets anymore but you have seen no progress for a few weeks. If your routines are getting static, you need to increase the intensity. If you're unable to give any more effort in your workouts, but no change for weeks, then you've hit a plateau. Of course, I have no idea about exactly what you're goals are, or what your routines are. It could just be a simple matter of increasing weight. A certain weight can only get you so big and strong. No sense in lifting it forever, add some more. Or it could just be that you'e not eating right or not eating enough. Also, if you've only been working out for 4 months, you need to mostly focus on the basics. Bench, deadlift, squat....along with other compound exercises. For example, the bench press builds way more muscle than some fuckin chest flys lol It's really only beneficial to those who have built some muscle on their chest already. Once you have that muscle, then you can start with the details. Those superset articles and specific tiny things, are for advanced lifters.
Thanks for the reply man. Ok maybe not HIT a plateau but definitely slowing down in results, which is to be expected I guess.. Like you said, until now I've been a noob and have been able to gain muscle and lose a good amount of weight just working out and getting to the gym in general. I want to make sure progress continues before time starts being wasted I guess. I'm not really muscular or ripped and I'm not really skinny or anything so I'm kinda torn between what to do and what to eat. I'm about 5'6 130lbs 28 yr old. My routine has generally been quick cardio warmup, dumbells - curls, raises, shoulder press, upright row until recently, bent over rows, shrugs. Then go on to heavier weight with machines and barbells tri pulldown and ez bar tri press thing, curls with barbell, bench press machine, tri pushdown machine things like that. Mostly tris, chest and bis. Then treadmill for about 20/25 min, then sometimes I go back and do one last set of curls/shrugs something like that. Don't do squats or leg press because of my knees. I do pushups, pullups/chinups, dips, body weight stuff at home. But like I said need to start doing more core and at least deadlift.. Dont know much about kettlebells other than it makes me paranoid about hitting my balls swinging it through my legs lol
Oh man I wrote another lengthy reply yesterday, where is it?...must've not hit reply....lol Anyways, I'll try to recreate it. Just looking at your routine, it looks like you just need to clean it up and add some structure. There's no one right way for everyone, so it takes time to figure out what works best for you. Personally, I'm not opposed to the old school thought of body part days. Monday's chest, Tuesday's back and so on...even though a lot of people are against this. I've never grown more then when training that way. Kill one muscle group per day, and really kill it. Have an idea of what you're going to do before you even do it. Which exercises, how many sets and reps... Monday for me looks something like: Bench - 5-6 sets (12, 10, 8, 6, 4) DB Pullover - 3 sets (12, 10, 8) Flys - 3 sets (12-15, 10-12, 8-10) DB Bench Press or Hammer Grip (or both)- 3 sets (12, 10, 8) I make sure I get that in every time, and then might add an exercise or two just to get that blood rush, like a high rep low weight close grip bench press consisting of as many reps as I can possibly do. Doesn't look like much on paper, but if you put your full effort into every single set, every single rep, it's a hell of a lot harder than half assing every single machine in the joint...do everything to your limit. 100 pounds on the bar with 30 reps will not come close to the effectiveness of 200 pounds and only 6-12 reps for building muscle. Of course the weight doesn't matter, no shame in whatever you can lift. Use the weight that you cannot lift past 12 times on the first set (or 11, or 13 all the same really, just in the range). Also, you didn't say anything about your eating. And it doesn't sound like you need to worry about cutting at your height/weight. Your muscles cannot grow without food. It will account for 75% of your muscle growth, and ALL of your muscle growth after the noob stage. Chicken, eggs, tuna, any good protein is essential, and good carbs like potatoes, rice, oats are just as important. As are healthy fats. Your muscles don't actually grow in the gym. They grow when you sleep. They only get exhausted in the gym, get fed when you eat (seriously lol) and grow when you're sleeping. They can't grow without all 3 of these things. You will be amazed how much progress you will make if you really challenge yourself. Good luck bud, and be careful with the deadlift, it can cause some serious problems if you don't use the proper form. Don't dive into anything just because I said it, it's only what has worked best for me.