it's funny cause i remember most of those questions i asked myself at first too, lol. i'll try to answer some of these questions, i hope MMSex doesn't mind.I'm gonna start going to the gym per tomorrow and I was just wondering about what sort of sets I was gonna do. Your routine seems pretty reasonable MMSex, I might give that a try. I just have a few questions if you don't mind:
1. When you say:
Do you mean per side or total? Also, the 5lbs for everything else, does that mean 2.5 per side or 5lbs per side? Excuse my stupidity in these matters, I'm new to this gym sh*t. I really have no idea what the regular numbers are for this sort of thing..
2. When you mention these numbers:
Do you mean that's the numbers for one session, meaning 15 sets of 5 for Squat etc. or would you split them up differently once you hit higher numbers?
3. What kind of warm-up would you recommend in terms of exercises and time spent on it?
4. I'm hitting the gym dolo first time around so I'm not sure yet if I can find someone to spot for me with the bench pressing. Is that absolutely necessary or is there a variation of the exercise where it's not needed?
(5.) (You really want me to start the Overhead Press with just the bar? What will people in the gym think..)
Any extra input on these questions will be much appreciated.
if someone says add X weight, it's always total. mean if someone says add 5 pounds, you add 2.5 on each side.
when you reas something like "squats - 3X5" it basically means three sets of five reps. go down and up 5 times, rest, do it again 5 times, rest and one last set of 5. you do it 15 times total and then you're done for squats. the first number always refers to the numbers of sets, the second to the number of reps.
if you're starting light on the bench press, spotting is not necessary unless you have serious elbow/wrist/shoulder problems. you can get away with benchpressing for a while without a spotter cause it goes progressively. one thing i'd recommend is to not wait til you can't lift anymore before stopping. if you're starting to feel like you might not be able to do the next rep, stop immediately. don't worry about looking weak to others cause you didn't do all the reps. first of all, no one is paying that much attention to you. second of all, it's better to stop before you fail than to be stuck under the bar (which is even more awkward and not to mention dangerous)
as far as starting on the empty bar, i thought the exact same thing. but you gotta leave your ego at the door like they say. i remember thinking empty bar on an exercise is the worst. but you know what looks even more funny than the empty bar? when you add 5 pounds the next overhead press session. basically you have a bar with 2.5 pounds on each side, lol. but it's the path... the bar alone weighs like 45 pounds. so say you have 5 pounds on each side you're lifting 55. that's why it's good to start on empty. makes it more progressive and you can focus on perfecting form (probably the MOST important thing when lifting, even more important than increasing weight) the first few sessions. if you're that worried about what it will look like, check if your gym has a section with weights on smaller barbells so it doesn't look as funny when you start at 45 pounds. or you could also use to dumbells of 25 to start and do the same movement and get to say two dumbells of 35 before you switch. but i'd still recommend to go straight to the olympic barbell just to get used to the feeling (it'll get you used to the grip too cause the bar has it's own thickness (no homo)). fukk what people think. think about what they'll think in 3 months when they see the guy who had an empty bar on squat is now squatting 220 for multiple sets with perfect form. same for the other lifts. fukk what anyone thinks, fukk if they look, fukk if dudes or even chicks see you lifting an empty bar or see you as weak. focus on your form, your discipline, going 3 times a week no excuses and on your short and longterm goals.in 3 months you'll look and feel different. in 6 months strangers will come up to you and start asking you at the gym and ask you for advice on form and other stuff (no joke). and all this from a dude who started on an empty bar...
gotta go (lol yes, i actually gotta go to the gym right now...)
preciate it turbulent
thought i could handle more weight so i'd put on more. or i'd do more reps/sets thinking i,ll get better results. and the first few times you still complete your sets so you think you're good. but it always ends up catching up to you later on. then you plateau early and have to deload early and lose some sessions just trying to get to where you were.
