We all know New Year’s resolution time is upon us. For serious gym rats, it’s the worst time of the year. The gyms get filled with lost souls doing bicep curls in the squat rack in between texts.
Then, they get sore and bored. They stop showing up until the next warm day when they are reminded of swimsuit season. Some quit completely.
One of the reasons people quit is because they overthink it, and therefore overwhelm themselves. Should I do more cardio? How many sets? I don’t want to get too big. Should I go on this new p***y diet?
I am going to tell you what I would do if I were just trying to get started. Full disclosure: I am not a personal trainer, doctor, or nutritionist; I have no certifications. What I have are the pain and experience of 20+ years of hard training starting as a gangly nothing.
For starters, concentrate on lifting. This will trigger your manhood. But train with the mentality of a weightlifter, not a bodybuilder.
Unless you are competing, bodybuilding is a non-functional vanity project which leads to overtraining. Your progress is based on aesthetics rather than tangibles.
If your lifts are increasing, you are getting stronger. Muscle has to grow; it may grow slowly, but it has to grow. This is tangible progress, not wondering if your arm looked bigger yesterday than today while you were driving home after preacher curls.
Training like a weightlifter/powerlifter will also make you functionally stronger. Professional bodybuilders are not functional.
They are very strong, but they are so overblown and tight that all they can really do is lift and flex.
I would focus on 4 major lifts separated into 4 separate days. The major lifts, or powerlifts are squat, bench press, military press, and deadlift. These are all barbell exercises.
I can already hear the candy-ass excuses about bad backs and having to leg press instead of squat and deadlift. Bull***t!
Unless you have had a major back injury, you can do these lifts. You know why most people don’t squat or deadlift? Because it’s tough!
I know this because I once made excuses. Truth is I didn’t want to face what I had to face. Now I can’t live without either.
Yes, you will tweak your back and knees occasionally. That’s life in the gym. But, you will be strong!
So, I would do squats day 1, bench press day 2 (throw in 3 sets of pull-ups after), off day 3, military press day 4 (throw in 3 sets of dips after), and deadlift day 5. Then take two days off.
I like squats and deadlifts at opposite ends of the week because they require the most effort and use similar muscles. After each workout do three sets of any type of abdominal exercise.
Basic abdominal stuff is fine: sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts, ab-wheels, whatever. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It just has to be done.
On off days, stretch, and move a bit. Go for a walk or hike, ride a bike, or play with your kids in the yard. If you are feeling like you need to do something more, sprint. Don’t jog.
Now that we have a basic game plan, you may ask what weight to start with. Well, before you touch a bar get a good stretch. Be engaged. We all have a tendency to go through the motions with stretching until we get hurt.
Now that you are stretched, do a set or two with super light weight. It can be just the bar. Just get warm; don’t burn strength. Through trial and error, find a weight that is challenging, but you can confidently do for 10 reps. Do 3 sets of 10 reps at that weight.
If you complete 3×10, go up 5 lbs. the following week. That’s 5 TOTAL lbs., not 5 lbs. on each side of the bar (the 2.5 lb. weights are your friends). I’d rest two minutes between major lift sets, and thirty seconds to one minute on everything else.
This phase is just to get your muscles, connective tissue, and nervous system used to lifting. I’d do it for three weeks. Then in week 4, test how much you can lift for 1 rep on each major lift. Now you have a base to measure your progress.
The following week stretch, warm up, and do 5 sets of 5 reps with 75% of your 1 rep max on each major lift. So, if your 1-rep max on a given lift is 200 lbs., you would start at 150 lbs. for 5×5.
If you complete the 5×5, go up 5 lbs. the following week. At first, this will seem too easy, but be patient. The time will come when you are struggling to complete this, and eventually hit the wall.
The point is you are continually progressing in weight. I keep a log to track progress. This is my simple beginner variation of Bill Starr’s 5×5 program.
As the load gets heavier, don’t be afraid to rest an extra minute or two between major sets. Anymore than 4 minutes cools me off. This may not sound like a lot of volume. It’s not!
The idea is to do the basics, get stronger, increase testosterone, be fit, then get the f***k out of the gym. Go enjoy being in shape and the confidence that comes with it.
You MUST get to the gym and stick to it to see progress though. Unless you are really sick or in an emergency, get your lifts in.
Things come up. If pressed for time, do the major lifts, and skip the abs, pull-ups, and dips that day. There will be days you don’t want to go. You will ALWAYS feel better after the workout than when you got there.
If you are obese I would still get started the same way, but I would go on Vince Gironda’s steak and eggs diet. Look it up.
If you are not severely overweight, I would tell you to read https://www.anabolicmen.com. This will teach you to eat like a man. Forget the fitness magazines who just want to sell you shakes loaded with estrogenics.
You may be wondering what to do when you hit the wall going up in weight, and can no longer complete 5×5. You just get started and stay tuned, Nancy…Talk soon.
-Marksman
PS: I recommend anyone who does not know how to do these lifts watch some Youtube videos. Like a batting stance or golf swing, everyone is different in where they should put their feet and grip.
A lot of it is personal comfort. The main thing is keep your back straight. Like a pitcher, always repeat your mechanics perfectly whether doing a warm up or work set. This will decrease injuries.