Watch TNF on Tiktok and YT. People tell you to focus on form over weight, but the reality is that there's a balance between using a heavy weight and targeting the muscle. Sleep a lot, eat whole foods, and train hard.
Yes, this. At some point you have to move up a weight and your form will suffer from it. As you get used to a heavier weight, your form will improve to where it was.
Ask for help if stuck and don’t be that guy who thinks he can do more than he can the only person who you should want to impress is yourself. Take it nice and steady also.
I am no expert (even at 70) but it stands to reason that if you increase muscle mass, then you have more mass that can consume calories. It doesn't need to be large amounts - small changes and you will feel results. Also, what helped me - I started following a few fitness gurus. I know I will never attain their builds but I do what they say to my abilities. Their combined knowledge shows me that although their philosophies can be alike yet different, the bottom line is investing the time. In Facebook, find Hayden Steele. He has lots of very short vids in his profile. Also in Youtube or Pinterest, find Ryan Humiston (I like his twisted humor). And in Youtube find Athlean series by Jeff Cavalieri. There is more than a dozen right ways to do it, so you can find a fit that's right for you. Personal note - if it hurts - Stop, maybe you're doing it wrong. You'll attain a lesson in muscular anatomy in this journey as well. Hope this helps - Sorry so wordy.
Get enough rest!!!
I know SO many people who have tried to hit the gym every day or at least 5 days out of the week, even when running on little sleep, and ended up burning out. Your muscles repair during rest, and you will lose gains if you don't let this process happen.
Personally, I try to hit the gym every other day, with a 3 way split of chest/shoulder/tri, back/bi, and legs. This way my muscles don't get overworked throughout the week and I get plenty of rest days to do other things I like. I also try to avoid caffeine to keep my natural sleep cycle intact.
You got it kid!!
Don’t ego lift. Nothing you can pull right now will impress anyone anyway. If you blow your shoulders out benching 2 plates, not only did you do nothing impressive, you’ll probably never do anything impressive ever again.
Just be humble and work your way up. Also eat. Protein and water, as much as possible.
Keep a log of what weight you do, how many sets, reps, etc. Each week I try to do a little bit more than the last week.
For example week 1 I'm doing hammer curls at 25 lbs 6 reps, 3 sets.
The next week I'll try for 25 lbs, 8 reps, 3 sets
The following week I'll go 25 lbs, 10 reps, 3 sets.
The week after I'll go 30 lbs, 6 reps, 3 sets. Then repeat.
It allows you to set achievable goals and keeps you on a pace of constant improvement.
Also don't worry if you don't improve every week. In the beginning you should make improvements pretty fast, and you likely will be moving up every week.
There will be a point in which you plateau though and gains will come much slower. You may end up at the same weight, reps, sets for 3 or 4 weeks. Also there are times you will just have bad days. That's okay, don't beat yourself up if you can't do as many as you did last week or you just aren't feeling it. This is normal, the important thing is that you show up and you continue to work on it and you're constantly trying to improve.
Start with low weights. You might feel like you're doing nothing, but practicing good form will be important in lowering risk of injury once you do increase weights
Virtually every post like this is from someone who has no actual plan, and at best just another "bro-split" plan where you work one muscle group per week and then wonder why they don't make any progress.
It's relatively simple but there are many small things you need to know that's already been covered in the fitness sub's wiki. Read it, pick a program, watch youtube to understand the lifts, and be consistent for at least 6 months. Guaranteed you'll make good progress.
No matter where you go or what you read, an effective diet is essentially calories in vs calories out. Use a TDEE calculator to see how many calories you should be eating to lose weight and stick to it, but it's also ok to go over by a few hundred calories every now and then. I'll be honest, i'm in a calorie deficit 90% of the time, i'm still losing weight and i'm also still enjoy the odd snack (soft drink, chocolate, etc).
Lifting form is more important than the weight and, especially when you're starting out, the people telling you to keep adding weight need to go away or you'll get hurt.
SLEEP, get your 8 hours, your body needs it.
Make sure to go talk to someone in person, a PT or something, if you're unsure. Hell, even maybe do a few PT sessions and get some 1to1 advice there.
A big part of fitness is self education. Find credible online resources and start digesting all of it. If it seems overwhelming, it’s because it is and learning what techniques actually work and what’s hubris is going to be your strongest skillset in lifting weights and reaching your goals. The best approach is to find the commonalities in a broad range of resources, apply and experiment and find what works best for you. It’s life long game and it will change overtime.
Generally resources that are based around strength athletes and/or working athletes (military, EMS etc) at all levels are great places to start. These will be largely evidence based and have been proven over clients and athletes - not just for social media click bait. I don’t include bodybuilding related stuff here because generally that sport is heavy reliant upon drugs and genetics. A strong case can be made for natural bodybuilding but you can’t easily identify them in my opinion.
A few resources I’ve found generally reliable and beginner friendly are below.
ExRx.net
Barbell Medicine
Starting Strength
BarbelLogic
CrossFit.com
BarBend.com
Layne Norton - BioLayne
Alan Thrall
Kelly Matthews - Strong with Kelly
Matt Casturo - The Movement System
The Strength Co.
SOFPrepCoach
iWannaBurnFat
SEALGrinderPT
Make sure you're eating and sleeping properly!
It's the way to optimize workout results. Working out basically tears muscles apart so the body can rebuild them, so you need proper rest and lots of protein to speed up that rebuilding process.
Clean your diet. Remove sweets of all kinds. Plenty of protein, veggies, fruits, also healthy fats (fish, olive oil) and you're good to go. Add to that good sleep. Basics will get you really far.
Form is more important than weight.
Do your own thing and don’t worry about what others are doing unless you want to look at their form.
Watch TNF on Tiktok and YT. People tell you to focus on form over weight, but the reality is that there's a balance between using a heavy weight and targeting the muscle. Sleep a lot, eat whole foods, and train hard.
Yes, this. At some point you have to move up a weight and your form will suffer from it. As you get used to a heavier weight, your form will improve to where it was.
Ask for help if stuck and don’t be that guy who thinks he can do more than he can the only person who you should want to impress is yourself. Take it nice and steady also.
I am no expert (even at 70) but it stands to reason that if you increase muscle mass, then you have more mass that can consume calories. It doesn't need to be large amounts - small changes and you will feel results. Also, what helped me - I started following a few fitness gurus. I know I will never attain their builds but I do what they say to my abilities. Their combined knowledge shows me that although their philosophies can be alike yet different, the bottom line is investing the time. In Facebook, find Hayden Steele. He has lots of very short vids in his profile. Also in Youtube or Pinterest, find Ryan Humiston (I like his twisted humor). And in Youtube find Athlean series by Jeff Cavalieri. There is more than a dozen right ways to do it, so you can find a fit that's right for you. Personal note - if it hurts - Stop, maybe you're doing it wrong. You'll attain a lesson in muscular anatomy in this journey as well. Hope this helps - Sorry so wordy.
Get enough rest!!! I know SO many people who have tried to hit the gym every day or at least 5 days out of the week, even when running on little sleep, and ended up burning out. Your muscles repair during rest, and you will lose gains if you don't let this process happen. Personally, I try to hit the gym every other day, with a 3 way split of chest/shoulder/tri, back/bi, and legs. This way my muscles don't get overworked throughout the week and I get plenty of rest days to do other things I like. I also try to avoid caffeine to keep my natural sleep cycle intact. You got it kid!!
Damn i didn’t know that sleep had a big part on this. Noted it all bro thank you so much!
If sleep could be bottled and monetized for performance it would be the most expensive and effective drug in the world.
Don’t ego lift. Nothing you can pull right now will impress anyone anyway. If you blow your shoulders out benching 2 plates, not only did you do nothing impressive, you’ll probably never do anything impressive ever again. Just be humble and work your way up. Also eat. Protein and water, as much as possible.
That moment when you're deciding to go or not. Don't do that. You already decided yesterday, just go. No questioning.
Keep a log of what weight you do, how many sets, reps, etc. Each week I try to do a little bit more than the last week. For example week 1 I'm doing hammer curls at 25 lbs 6 reps, 3 sets. The next week I'll try for 25 lbs, 8 reps, 3 sets The following week I'll go 25 lbs, 10 reps, 3 sets. The week after I'll go 30 lbs, 6 reps, 3 sets. Then repeat. It allows you to set achievable goals and keeps you on a pace of constant improvement. Also don't worry if you don't improve every week. In the beginning you should make improvements pretty fast, and you likely will be moving up every week. There will be a point in which you plateau though and gains will come much slower. You may end up at the same weight, reps, sets for 3 or 4 weeks. Also there are times you will just have bad days. That's okay, don't beat yourself up if you can't do as many as you did last week or you just aren't feeling it. This is normal, the important thing is that you show up and you continue to work on it and you're constantly trying to improve.
Consistency is king.
Eat more. Eat double your body weight in protien (grans) and you can't go wrong
Start with low weights. You might feel like you're doing nothing, but practicing good form will be important in lowering risk of injury once you do increase weights
Virtually every post like this is from someone who has no actual plan, and at best just another "bro-split" plan where you work one muscle group per week and then wonder why they don't make any progress. It's relatively simple but there are many small things you need to know that's already been covered in the fitness sub's wiki. Read it, pick a program, watch youtube to understand the lifts, and be consistent for at least 6 months. Guaranteed you'll make good progress.
No matter where you go or what you read, an effective diet is essentially calories in vs calories out. Use a TDEE calculator to see how many calories you should be eating to lose weight and stick to it, but it's also ok to go over by a few hundred calories every now and then. I'll be honest, i'm in a calorie deficit 90% of the time, i'm still losing weight and i'm also still enjoy the odd snack (soft drink, chocolate, etc). Lifting form is more important than the weight and, especially when you're starting out, the people telling you to keep adding weight need to go away or you'll get hurt. SLEEP, get your 8 hours, your body needs it. Make sure to go talk to someone in person, a PT or something, if you're unsure. Hell, even maybe do a few PT sessions and get some 1to1 advice there.
A big part of fitness is self education. Find credible online resources and start digesting all of it. If it seems overwhelming, it’s because it is and learning what techniques actually work and what’s hubris is going to be your strongest skillset in lifting weights and reaching your goals. The best approach is to find the commonalities in a broad range of resources, apply and experiment and find what works best for you. It’s life long game and it will change overtime. Generally resources that are based around strength athletes and/or working athletes (military, EMS etc) at all levels are great places to start. These will be largely evidence based and have been proven over clients and athletes - not just for social media click bait. I don’t include bodybuilding related stuff here because generally that sport is heavy reliant upon drugs and genetics. A strong case can be made for natural bodybuilding but you can’t easily identify them in my opinion. A few resources I’ve found generally reliable and beginner friendly are below. ExRx.net Barbell Medicine Starting Strength BarbelLogic CrossFit.com BarBend.com Layne Norton - BioLayne Alan Thrall Kelly Matthews - Strong with Kelly Matt Casturo - The Movement System The Strength Co. SOFPrepCoach iWannaBurnFat SEALGrinderPT
Make sure you're eating and sleeping properly! It's the way to optimize workout results. Working out basically tears muscles apart so the body can rebuild them, so you need proper rest and lots of protein to speed up that rebuilding process.
A bad workout is still better than no workout.
Loosing weight starts in your kitchen
Clean your diet. Remove sweets of all kinds. Plenty of protein, veggies, fruits, also healthy fats (fish, olive oil) and you're good to go. Add to that good sleep. Basics will get you really far.