Another Newbie

[toothyp1cks]

Hey everyone.
15 years 15 days old here (finish grade 10 this year). I want to build muscle. I'm still pretty young but I still want to get huge. Don't want to go into bodybuilding, just want the muscles for myself. I find it a huge turn on and, though I'm not gonna call it yet, I definitely know which way my orientation is swinging. I've been browsing the internet and 4chan's /fit/ for a while and I'm about 1/4 of the way through Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe . I understand the importance of form and I know not to spend 4.5 hours on my guns. Anyway, I'm just here to gather information. I don't want to jump into this decision half-cocked. Also I know about machines vs. freeweights.


I've been a bit fat all my life. Not grotesquely overweight but definitely on the fat end of chubby. At the moment I'm 168cm tall and 77kg. A little short and chubby for those who don't want to convert. I have some muscle and I am definitely stronger than average for someone who has never lifted before but not by much. I'm aiming to hit 100kg (220lbs I think) by the end of grade 11 to halfway through grade 12. Probably unrealistic but it's nice to dream. At this point I'd like to stress that I'm aiming for bearmode/powerlifter, not swimmermode or bodybuilder.


So I present to you my plan for critique. I'm gonna lift (squats, bench, press, deadlift) (3x8) 2 times a week at the school gym and 1 time a week at home (but I've only got a bar). I've got an hour and a half in the gym so plenty of time for other stuff you think is important. If I have to I can do pushups/chinups/whatever at home after my gym sessions but I'd prefer to do them at the gym with everything else too. I'm gonna do bridges every night and a 30 minute run every weekend.
I will keep this up for 3 weeks and then review. If I have made little/no gains then I will review diet & sleeping etc. If I am making progress I will continue to keep it up until progress halts. I am not going to try to lose fat. Just build the muscle underneath it.


Goals. Again, these are probably aiming way to high so feel free to shoot them down.
By halfway through grade 12 I want to weigh 100kg (220).
I want to spend grade 12 building up to 150kg (330). I'll almost definitely stop at 150 but I really doubt I'm gonna reach it at all.
This isn't going to be just muscle. Again, I'm aiming for bearmode. I haven't set goals for lifts yet because I still don't know what I should be lifting.


Tl;dr: 15 year old kid wants to go bearmode. What do?


Also, If anyone knows about idealism in popular culture then that would be nice too.

[Zap]

Those are definitely a bit too high in terms of having realistic goals. Muscle builds up slowly (you could say 1 pound a week at max, but it varies from person to person). It also sounds to me that you're taking the LAZY way for muscle building. "Oh I'm fat, but I want muscle, so I'll just go for the whole bear thing." I never really heard of a teen who wanted to be muscular and chunky. Usually it's just "I want to get shredded." and they leave it at that... Then again, it takes all kinds.

Know this: Fat is not muscle. Fat makes you LOOK bigger, but not stronger. Fat covered muscles aren't as "solid" feeling as plain ol' muscles. People can tell if a person is covered in fat or not, it's easy to tell apart from muscle by looks and feel. If you understand that, then please continue with the bearbuilding routine.

Still, I strongly suggest you rethink your goals for the time being.

For starters, you need the proper diet AND the proper routine. Check: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/ You can also ask questions on their forum.

Secondly, you should lose weight before seriously building. Fat acts like an anti-muscle build barrier. It lessens the amount of free testosterone due to producing an estrogen like substance. This "estrogen" also causes breast development. That means you could get temporary moobs or gynecomastia(which isn't temporary). You also gain fat as you build muscle (thems the rules). Having less fat also heightens energy levels and makes exercises easier to execute, so that's something else to consider as well.

Basically, don't half ass it. Lose some weight. Then build muscle. You might decide you like the swimmer/bodybuilder look more. And if you don't, then you can simply keep building muscle and do less fat maintenance to bulk up on both fat and muscle. The whole process will be a slow one, regardless, so it's not like you have anything to lose to do it the slightly longer way.

If you have the right diet (2000 calories at the most, healthy foods, etc.) and do loads of cardio, you can lose roughly 2~3 pounds a week. So within a month, you lose about 12 or maybe even more pounds (because of the water weight that's lost). So that probably means you only need 3-4 months of weight loss. You can also do simple strength exercises to help tone yourself up, which will prepare you for the REAL DEAL of working out when time comes. You'll also have higher stamina thanks to all the cardio (your body will be used to stress, and be able to deliver oxygen to muscles easier than if you had lower stamina; so muscles can heal faster and ache less). You're young, take advantage of your metabolism while you can. Losing weight will just become harder as you get older (albeit, not too hard, but would you rather lose 3 pounds a week or 1~2?)

That's my two cents, anyway.

[Aielyn]

Originally Posted by Zap

Secondly, you should lose weight before seriously building. Fat acts like an anti-muscle build barrier. It lessens the amount of free testosterone due to producing an estrogen like substance. This "estrogen" also causes breast development. That means you could get temporary moobs or gynecomastia(which isn't temporary). You also gain fat as you build muscle (thems the rules). Having less fat also heightens energy levels and makes exercises easier to execute, so that's something else to consider as well.

I'd actually advise quite the opposite. Not that he should expect any major gains early on (outside of the beginner's gain, resulting from stimulation of muscles that haven't been stimulated before), but because muscle requires more energy to maintain, even while resting.

In short, muscle-building is one of the most effective ways to boost the metabolism. In addition to this, serious muscle building at this stage without a focus on major gains should allow him to focus on technique and form, and give him time to learn before he goes hard.

His physical fitness state will generally keep him from pushing too hard, anyway. While I wasn't anywhere near as overweight when I started working out, I started out at just two days a week, and would usually manage maybe an hour on each of those two days, if I was feeling energetic. And while my gains weren't exceptional, they gave me confidence and, over time, my stamina and strength improved, and I could push myself harder.

I honestly believe this is the healthiest way to handle things. And what's more, the direct exposure to people who are more experienced than he is should help him to learn other ways to improve the process - diet tips, exercise tips, etc. And the greater awareness of his body that would come from serious muscle work will also lead to a greater awareness of what he puts into his body, etc.

[toothyp1cks]

Thanks for the advice Zap. I have thought about the bearmode vs. swimmermode before and I know which one I want. I just don't like the bodybuilder look as much as I do the powerlifter look. It's probably not normal for teenagers but I don't really care. Anyway, you've given me some good things to think about but I'm gonna hold off and see what others say.
And I figured my goals were way too high. Damn.

Thanks for your 0.02$ too Aielyn

[Zap]

Originally Posted by Aielyn

I'd actually advise quite the opposite. Not that he should expect any major gains early on (outside of the beginner's gain, resulting from stimulation of muscles that haven't been stimulated before), but because muscle requires more energy to maintain, even while resting.

I don't really like correcting people, even if they're not entirely right. But considering this kid is new to all of this, it's best that he doesn't get contradicting answers (one of which would hurt him and his progress). Now you would be correct if this kid was already active and more fit, but he's not, so that type of advice would hurt him. If he did jump right into weight lifting for mass building, his body would go nuts and no progress would be made. Unless his goal was to hurt himself, then yeah, some progress would be made.

EVERY LIVING ANIMALS' body works on a cycle (humans are a part of the Animal Kingdom, we're animals). The body adjusts itself whenever need be to deal with whatever regular stress comes its way. If you want to go out on a limb, you could basically say there's two people in one thing. Your body, and you. You can tell yourself "Let's build muscle, let's start running, let's start being flexible" but your body isn't going to comply. But if you "show" your body that you are stressing muscles, running, stretching to your fullest, etc. regularly, then it will adjust itself to deal with such things. IE:

-It will now focus on building muscle rather than just repairing it to deal with the constant weight being pushed around.
-The circulatory system will now have a better grip on how to distribute oxygen to the rest of the body and the working muscles without depriving either one of them of vital resources.
-It will now realize that stretching to the fullest amount is of the norm, so it will give the ligaments more slack/elasticity to stretch to that point with more ease.

Overall: Your muscles are in peak condition, your stamina is high, you can now stretch without hurting yourself.

Okay, now that I said that, you're probably thinking "Um, so?" Well, let me bring up this lovely thought. What if you suddenly put intense, unfamiliar stress on your body? What if you weren't active prior to that?

-It will focus on repairing the rest of the body, since the stress just kicked the body's figurative ass. The muscles can wait. As such, the muscles suffer (and ache, and don't grow stronger).
-The circulatory system will be focusing on giving oxygen to the nearest and more important recipients, meaning your muscles get deprived of oxygen and other vital resources.
-You hurt yourself. Bad. You won't be stretching for quite sometime.

Overall: You're gasping, you're aching, and now you won't be able to do any physical activity for 2~5 days/until you're fully healed.

Then you remember the guy who said "Hey, do some cardio before you go into serious weight lifting." and then you realize it was meant to build up stamina, as well as allow your ligaments deal with stress better. Which in turn helps your circulatory system's work on its ability to function more efficiently under stress. Which then delivers what's needed to the working muscles, allowing them to grow since the body knows they're being used (for extremely strenuous activity) on a regular basis.



So again, the best way for him to go about this is to prime his body for serious mass building is to:

1) Get the diet in check - slowly changing it to be healthier, if need be

2) Do some light cardio - gradually getting more and more intense from week to week.

3) Lose the weight to lighten the load on his body - every part of his body, especially his heart and lungs, will be VERY grateful

4) Start doing very simple and light toning exercises - get the muscles used to working a bit more than usual, get them revved up. This will result in stronger and slightly bigger muscles. (The entire body, now used to the idea of being worked, will then take extra nutrients and put it towards building strong muscles regardless of the stress put on them.)


Then after a month of that, he'd be ready to turn the "simple and light" exercises to "moderate and medium-weight". Then when he feels his body is in decent condition, he can jump into seriously building muscle.


Okay, talking too much. Last tips for the new guy! Always stretch before and after lifting weights or doing cardio, it promotes blood flow which allows faster healing as well as preparing your body for whatever stress may come its way that requires that particular area.

[CelticMuscle]

Originally Posted by toothyp1cks

Also, If anyone knows about idealism in popular culture then that would be nice too.

May I recommend Around the World in Eighty Days with the ulimate in idealism Phileas Fogg

[toothyp1cks]

Thanks again for the advice Zap but I've been asking around in some other places and nobody else is saying the same thing. I'm not going to dismiss what you've said but if you have any links to articles or somesuch then it'd give your opinions more credibility because, at the moment, it looks like broscience. Especially considering its just you so far saying it (and I've got threads in a few different forums). Surely the body would adapt to the unfamiliar stress if it was applied regularly (3 times a week).

Originally Posted by CelticMuscle

May I recommend Around the World in Eighty Days with the ulimate in idealism Phileas Fogg

You may. Thanks.

[Minotaur]

Originally Posted by toothyp1cks

I just don't like the bodybuilder look as much as I do the powerlifter look. It's probably not normal for teenagers but I don't really care.

T'ain't nothing wrong with that goal. I myself prefer a beefy muscled look over a ripped physique, too. There's nothing wrong with the ripped look, and I'm certainly not trying to offend anyone (who am I anyway? ).

Learn to lift with as perfect form as possible, as heavy as you can (don't worry about someone else's numbers); do the compound exercises and train like you're a powerlifter... bench, squat, deadlift, overhead presses, etc.; eat wholesome foods and not junk; rest well since you grow when you rest.

You are young, which is a great advantage. And we'll want progress pictures.

[chitownbber]

I am seriously skeptical about the authenticity of this thread and whether or not the poster truly is 15. but, I will say this:

15 is still too young to be hitting heavy iron!!!! you could do damage to your body that you will have to live with the rest of your life. EXTREME CAUTION is in order. I tell all the young guys starting out that they are building their foundation. And like a house, you want a good strong stable foundation.

I see young kids messing up their backs and they will be hating life big time when they are 40.

Focus on core strength and stability. plenty out their on the internet just google it. dont get into showing off how many 45 pound plates you can hang on a bar for your bench / squat / deadlift - that is a recipe for INJURY - injuries that will haunt you the rest of your life.

at 15, the lifting is less than 50% of the battle. the other most crucial but most overlooked factors : PROPER NUTRITION and PROPER REST. So many young guys wasting so much time in the gym because their lifestyle outside of the gym is not conducive to the foundational muscle growth that is so important

i will stop preaching but please - BE CAREFUL