GordyR's Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding

[Oakesy2001uk]

might have more luck in here....

Taking up boxing a few nights a week as like the fitness/conditioning aspect and will be doing mainly bag and pad work with a bit of sparring.
I take it this will have an effect on my weight training. I started bill starr last week, and have got on with it quite well as far as I can tell. but would a more balanced 2/3 day full body program, or back to a 3 day split to fit in better with the boxing?
So basically What sort of training should I do along side the boxing to build a little lean mass. I am quite lean at the mo, very small ammount of podge half covering my abs and that is all I have to speak of. Think I have the diet as right as its going to get, the odd take away but good on the whole, and should be eating plenty.

 

[richie.guy]

Depends - what do you want?

Bill star is pretty good for mass and strength, something you probably don't need in boxing in all honesty. Quality of gains all come down to diet.

You'll more than likely be entering intoa highly catabolic state when you're boxing. There's little you can do about it other than reduce the intensity and length of the sessions. Apart from that, make sure you fuel correctly before you box.

 

[Oakesy2001uk]

Basically, I dont want to be really big and never have done, Im 6foot and 12 stone, (sorry don work in lbs lol) I want to make my 6 pack a bit more visible, and bulk a little more in the 2 months I have left on my gym membership. I might go back onto a 3 day split until I finsh at the gym, and do boxing on the days I'm not in the gym. staying on 2 shakes a day as well as a good diet around that. Then after that, do my boxing and go the local gym when it suits me to keep it up. (dropping the shakes and knocking the diet back a little).
Is that a good plan?

 

[GordyR]

Basically, I dont want to be really big and never have done, Im 6foot and 12 stone, (sorry don work in lbs lol) I want to make my 6 pack a bit more visible, and bulk a little more in the 2 months I have left on my gym membership. I might go back onto a 3 day split until I finsh at the gym, and do boxing on the days I'm not in the gym. staying on 2 shakes a day as well as a good diet around that. Then after that, do my boxing and go the local gym when it suits me to keep it up. (dropping the shakes and knocking the diet back a little).
Is that a good plan?

There are a number of factors you need to consider mate.

DOMS - Does 'Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness' effect your boxing in any way? DOMS seems to relate directly to your training frequency. You typically suffer from DOMS far more on a typical 3 day split due to the sheer volume on each day. Also the fact that you blast each muscle group with a number of isolation exercises as well as the compounds. Routines where you hit muscle groups with less volume but higher frequency such as Bill Starr's 5x5 tend to be very forgiving with regards to DOMS. Once the trainee has gotten accustomed to such frequent training DOMS is rarely an issue, if at all.

Fatigue - This depends greatly on how you train. If you are doing Bill Starr's properly then you will be reaching periods of 'peaked' fatigue and have to deload in order to continue making gains. The question is how will this fatigue effect your performance in the ring. Difficult for me to answer to be honest since I am not a boxer. However I will say that if you are training on a standard 3 day split and are continuously training to failure then this could be detrimental to your performance. Perhaps consider deloading more often than you normally would?

In my opinion I think you should stick with a fullbody workout 2-3 times per week for the duration of your boxing escapades. I think the strength gains from Bill Starr's would compliment boxing very well. I would forget almost all accessory work (isolation movements) and just concentrate on those compounds i.e. Squat, Bench and Row/Deadlift. Maybe throw in a few sets of curls/extensions here and there for your 'beach muscles'. Keep your workouts short but intense and steer away from ever training to muscular failure, at least while you are boxing.

Having said all this I am no expert on boxing or training for boxers so I could be wide of the mark with my comments. Regardless, be sure to to factor your boxing in to your diet. Whatever type of training you are doing, you will not gain any lean mass unless you are eating enough. Though if getting your bodyfat low enough to have a visible sixpack then this may not be an issue to you.

 

[Oakesy2001uk]

Cheers gordy, that makes sense. I think I will stick with the 5*5 compounds, and do the odd accessory here and there, normally not too bad on doms only occaisionally, think I'm used to it now. I will be joining a boxing gym in 2 or 3 months anyway so see what they say.

 

[Youstolemyname]

Quick question to anyone here who can advise.

I bulked out bigtime over winter and now weigh 90kg at 6ft tall. I was a puny lil runt before I started training

However, as predicted I gained loads of bodyfat and want to shift it pronto for the summer. I quite like HIIT as it pushes me and I feel tired after doing it, but I also like the longer steady state cardio.

At the moment I have shifted from a split routine to a full body workout every other day and am doing 30 mins of cardio every day.

The question is, during cardio should I keep my heart rate low during the steady state to burn the fat reserves or should I go at it at a pretty decent pace?

I have had conflicting information. Some people have advised that a quick walking pace is better than jogging to burn fat off and to keep my heart rate down to about 135 whereas others have said I should train at about 150-160 bpm by working reasonably hard. My rest heart rate is 56 bpm.

Thanks in advance.

 

[stig]

ive been working out every day using dumbells and have probebly doubled in size since last year. but i cant help but notice my right arm is significantly less developed then my left! even when bench pressing my right arm struggles but left keeps going without even shaking!

should i do extra reps on the right arm?!

*S

 

[red11]

ive been working out every day using dumbells and have probebly doubled in size since last year. but i cant help but notice my right arm is significantly less developed then my left! even when bench pressing my right arm struggles but left keeps going without even shaking!

should i do extra reps on the right arm?!

*S

Same thing happened to me a few months ago, it does eventually even itself out though, but my left arm is still definitely the stronger arm, my tricep looks more developed as well but I've been told you'll have a stronger arm anyway.

 

[Oakesy2001uk]

My arms look about the same, but left is deffo a bit stornger.

 

[Onix1]

I've been using this thread as a guide since November. Since starting, I have put on over a stone in weight. (Currently 12.5 stone 6ft 3"). I’m very pleased with the gains I’m seeing on my arms and legs.

The problem now is my chest... I don’t seem to be getting anywhere with my pectorals. I’m bench pressing/ performing fly’s with as much resistance as I can take. I certainly feel stronger but I’m just not seeing any big difference

Any advice on how to really blast that area?


Great guide by the way GordyR. There’s some pure gold advice in here!

 

[red11]

Onix1 post up your workout.

 

[GordyR]

I've been using this thread as a guide since November. Since starting, I have put on over a stone in weight. (Currently 12.5 stone 6ft 3"). I’m very pleased with the gains I’m seeing on my arms and legs.

The problem now is my chest... I don’t seem to be getting anywhere with my pectorals. I’m bench pressing/ performing fly’s with as much resistance as I can take. I certainly feel stronger but I’m just not seeing any big difference

Any advice on how to really blast that area?


Great guide by the way GordyR. There’s some pure gold advice in here!

First of all congratulations on your gains mate, thats fantastic news!

Now onto your lacking pecs. We all have lagging bodyparts and its often just down to genetics. Still there are things you can do.

If you have been training on a standard split now might be the time to switch it around. I personally like an upper/lower/upper/lower routine at the moment. Hit your chest twice a week but drop the isolation movements like flyes for this type of routine. It really wants to be built purely around the compounds and the volume per bodypart will obviously be less on each day.

Spread the volume out throughout the week...

For instance if you were doing 9 or so sets for chest but leaving a week to recover switch it up and do 5-6 sets on a monday and then 5-6 sets on a Thursday. Maybe flat bench 3x10 and incline bench 3x10 on the Monday then on the Thursday up the weights and do flat bench 5x5 and 3 sets of dips. Take a look at DFHT (Dual factor Hypertrophy Training) if you fancy this kind of thing, but be sure to follow it correctly and don't miss out the deloading periods.

Our muscles can recover in a few days so you can get away with training them more often than once per week but you have to adjust the volume to avoid frying your CNS and overtraining.

Alternatively take a look at Bill Starr's 5x5 routine. If you eat properly and follow the progressive resistance principles correctly then your chest will grow on that. On Bill starr's you will actually be hitting your chest 3 times per week... Though obviously not to failure.


Basically give it time and your chest will eventually fill out. I'm sure plenty of others will chime in with some advice here but i'm off to the gym myself right now so I have got to run! Good luck matey.

 

[red11]

GordyR, how you've not been made a Man of Honour on these forums yet baffles me....

 

[Onix1]

That was a quick response!

Tony, I have been following the first page of this thread since starting off. I’ve thrown in a few different exercises here and there, but I've found Gordy's original routine to be an excellent introduction.

"Monday (Chest/Shoulder/Triceps)

Flat Bench Press – 3x8
Incline Dumbbell Bench – 3x8
Skull Crushers – 3x8 (similar to lying tricep extensions)
Close Grip Bench Press – 3x8
Seated Dumbbell Military Press -3x8
Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 3x8


Wednesday (Back/Biceps)

Dead lifts – 3x8
Bent over one arm Dumbbell rows – 3x8
Chin Ups 3x8
Barbell Bicep Curl -3x8
One arm Dumbbell hammer Curls – 3x8


Friday (Legs/Abs)

Barbell Squats – 3x8
Dumbbell Lunges – 3x8
Calf Raises-4x10
Abdominal workout (Crunches, leg raises, whatever)"


Gordy, I can see where your coming from about mixing up the weekly routine. I really like the sound of Bill Star's 5 x 5 routine. I'll need to read up on it after work.

Once again, thanks for the advice. I agree with Tony Soprano's sentiments. The diet section alone has been amazingly helpful; never mind the numerous exercise tips throughout the thread.

Keep up the good work!

 

[GordyR]

Once again, thanks for the advice. I agree with Tony Soprano's sentiments. The diet section alone has been amazingly helpful; never mind the numerous exercise tips throughout the thread.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks both of you, i'm glad I have been able to help.

Anyway back to your routine Onix1...

Right well as you are aware that little classic split I posted was simply a guideline and meant as an introduction to ease you in to learning the lifts and to get a feel for the differences between compounds and isolations etc. It is certainly not the most efficient way to train since most people can handle higher frequency by spreading out the volume as I mentioned before. But i'm a fan of classic splits for beginners as long as they are based mostly around the compounds. I'm pleased to hear it has worked well for you.

In my opinion mate, now is definately the time for you to be looking at stepping it up a notch. By the sounds of things you have your lifts down nicely. I assume your form is decent and your body has become accustomed to training.

Spend a week working out your 5 rep maxes and give Bill Starr's ago or take a look at DFHT. The thing about weight lifting is that everyones response varies. Some peoples legs simply baloon from squatting only 3x8 once per week, Other people need 5x5 three times per week. Now that you have a little experience under your belt you should have a reasonably good idea of how your body responds. I always hesitate to write out a specific routine for someone since there is no way of me knowing how they will respond. You have to judge that by your own results and make adjustments as neccessary.

With regards to Bill Starr's be sure to follow the plan properly incorperating the deloading. Most people who fail on such routines start straight out right at their 5RM's and burn out far too quickly. The first couple of weeks should feel relatively easy, by the end of your fourth week you should be hitting now PR's. When the gains stop, rewind, deload and work up again to new PR's.

No single routine is for everyone so if its not to your liking by all means try something else. But rest assured Bill Starr's 5x5 is awesome for lean mass as long as you eat for hypertrophy.

 

[neoboy]

Bah I'm starting to get stretches on my skin where my biceps are.

 

[richie.guy]

Bah I'm starting to get stretches on my skin where my biceps are.

Live with it, pussy

 

[neoboy]

Suppose they can be easily hidden with a bit more tan.

 

[richie.guy]

Suppose they can be easily hidden with a bit more tan.

They tend to go more pink and then white with a bit of sun.

Cocoa butter is supposed to help. I'd buy some and start using it before they get too bad - mine are pretty extreme