/Noob/ Noob Gains General

Started late November lifting low weights high reps. Just switched to max weight I can do 10 reps and it's 1000x more gainz. Can't say it was a total waste of time though it laid a good foundation.
Also knock out 30 push ups sit ups dips and some other quick shit every mourning. Most my first month gains are from that.
Got protien mix last week helps a lot.
Preacher bar comes in Saturday going to add it to my mourning routine.
5 '11 202, gaining muscle seems easier than loosing weight. Eat about 1k calories a day, been floating 202 for a week.

Can doing 50 push ups in the morning and 50 at night tone my bod up a bit? 5'6 125 lbs

No. You're better off gaining muscle. Surplus + weight training. You could always put weight on your back and do push-ups and that could help.

I just switched from stronglifts to the r*ddit ppl this week. did leg day today and was squatting 3pl8. I'd only done it as 5x5 before but the ppl says 2x5 then 1x5+. for the amrap I did 12 reps at 140kg, I'm pretty proud of myself desu and just wanted to tell someone because I don't really have any friends who would understand

I'mm jelly mate. 3pl8 is porbbaly going to be the first from 1/2/3/4 I'll hit. At 105 for 5 atm.

Lol. That's nice man. 3pl8 is way more than pretty much anyone can do.

thanks, it's definitely helped my confidence given how weak I used to be. my current stats are
>140kg squat
>100kg bench
>125kg deadlift
>50kg ohp
just keep going user, I was at 105 in December just stick with it, eat and sleep well

It does literally nothing? I don't want to bulk up. I just want my muscles to be stronger and I want some pec definement and a six pack.

That's a weird way to say your stats. I mean you say 140kg squat but earlier you said you did 12 reps with 140kg.

Of course I don't know anything about you but it might be worth looking into your deadlift form as it seems out of proportion. Anyway those are some pretty solid stats.

I had been doing a 5x5 routine which I dropped for ppl when I had hit 140kg for my squats. I had never lifted over 140kg so when I started ppl this week I continued from that weight and was able to do 12 reps with it.
pic related is my progress graph from stronglifts, squats are blue, deadlifts are green. I think my problem with deadlifts is either increasing the weight too slow or my grip, but I'll work on that and hopefully catch it up.

Ah, yeah. If it's still going up then I don't see a problem. Doing really well there.

Doing SL as well. I started on 15 December with the bar for basically everything except rows/deads, but it took me a while to find my feet.
Currently 32.5kg OHP/47.5kg Bench/77.5 Squat/85 deads and 60 for my barbell rows.

I've gone from 63kg to 68kg, aiming for around 2500 cal per day.

Pic related is my man. As you can see, my press and my bench are absolute trash. My form is generally pretty good and I'm breathing properly, but I struggle so much with these. Any tips to help me improve (either these lifts in particular or in general)

ONE

thanks user, I'll keep it up

You've been at it for 1,5 months. That's good progress. Just keep it up and the numbers will follow.

So far most of your gains have come from nervous system adapting rather than muscle mass increase. That's why it might feel like struggling as you're not getting as much of those literally free nervous system gains anymore. Just keep it up, doing well.

Pretty much. Unless you're EXTREMELY untrained. Even then it wouldn't do much. You have to utilize progressive overload, preferably with weights.

TWO

How much do you fucking weigh?

THREE

Thanks for the encouragement. My squats are still getting NS gains I think because each session I'm putting on 2.5kg. I've stalled a few times with my presses, but I just deload approx 10% for the next session.

My rows are really good for some reason but I'm not sure if I'm compromising form or if I'm just naturally good at them or what.

Been doing SS for about a month now. Went from 76kg to 82kg. Im around 6'4''. Drinking about a liter of milk every day lol.
>OHP 30kg to 42.5kg
>bench 40kg to 55kg
>squat 50kg to 85kg
>DL 60kg to 110kg
I was so fucking tired today tho, just didn't feel like increasing anything and squatted 80kg. >Felt a bit bad not increasing but my form was a lot better

you're gonna get fat if you drink milk like rip suggests

Yeah I've noticed, but to be completely honest I don't give a fuck. I've been a skinny twig all my life. My ex gave me a hug yesterday and told me "wow have you gotten bigger". It felt amazing.

I can always do a cut later on if I want to right

FOUR

IT'S A LONG LIFE

Bro I'm fucking struggling to lose weight by only eating 2 eggs for brekke, meat and veg for dinner and running most days. Like you I used to be a twig but I really regret not staying lean. I'm not fat by any means but not as aesthetic as I could be.

Damn. I'm just scared I wont gain any size if I try to stay lean. I'll keep tracking my weight and cut back on the milk if I'm gaining too much too fast.

Yeah just be careful bro. Heaps of cunts fall for the bulking meme then cant cut so they try for bearmode

>6'1" 182lbs
>first time in gym
>can't even bench 3 reps 75lbs
>faint and almost passed out
>check symmetric strength
>BP is 87 lbs 5RM for untrained
>the guy is all fucking pink
AAAAAHHHHH

as long as your calories are about 200-300 above maintenance and you're exercising enough, you'll be putting on muscle.

post guy

Had a phase of weed smoking and shit eating for ~3 months every day so ended up a 65 kg twig

3 months of training
180 cm
~72 kg
Don't really track what I eat, usually eat at university cafeteria for lunch and dinner, milk + cereal breakfast and a tuna can with bread after workout, I suspect this is too low
Also weekends of drinking and smoking cigs

> inb4 nice blog retard

I started with this routine (given by the PT at the gym) in Aug/17 and never missed a day. I'm happy with my gainz and I'm increasing the weight a little bit week after week, but after all the things I read here I'm suspecting it's not as optimal as it could be:

Day 1: Chest / Biceps
- bench press, incline bench press, incline fly, pec deck fly
- barbell curls, dumbell hammer curls, concentration curls

Day 2: legs / shoulders
- squats (smith), lying leg curls, alternating leg extensions, standing calf raises
- lateral raises, shoulder press, upright rows

Day 3: back / triceps
- cable pulldown, seated rows, bent over rows, pullover
- cable pushdow, triceps extensions, bench dips (with heels on floor)

Yes, there are not deadlifts. When I asked why not (after reading that virtually every routine on the internet has DLs), the PT said something like "If a beginner uses the adequate weight for DL to be relevant, there's a great risk of injury. If not, then there's no point in doing DLs"

>What are your experiences with gaining muscle for the first 6months - 1year of lifting.
My body changed noticeably for the better

>How did your body react to diet changes and resistance training?
Although I've never been on a strict cut, I'm certain that 80% of the past 6 months I have eaten CIWere you able to build muscle in a caloric deficit or while maintaining weight(recomp)?
I think so. Only lost 2 kg over the last 6 months, and I'm seeing muscles I've never been able to see. The ones that I already could see are now noticeably bigger.

>When did your noob gains peak and how did you look afterwards compared to your previously untrained body?
I hope they haven't peaked yet. There's still a lot of bf to shed, but I'm motivated as hell with the results so far

Routine?

Swap tuna for the superior sardine

Summarize

better pinch yourself

GSLP with incline dumbbell press, facepulls and plate raises on bench day and light incline bench, curls and tricep pushdowns on OHP day.

I weigh 172lbs // 78kg

I added one set to the pressing motions. My accessories were done 3x15 except plate raises were 2x12, curls 3x12 and triceps 3x25, sometimes curls and tris were supersetted to save time.

I started last week, trying to go every other day but muscles have been too sore to work out, still a little sore today but I am going to try and work out anyways.

Hey I'm interested in that PPL program but can only go to the gym 3 times a week. Is it feasible to gain strenght like that as a complete novice?

I'm 3 months into training.

skinnyfat poorfag here, probably not even considered a novice. was given some old dumbbells and a shitty bench recently and I want to improve myself. I've read that dumbbells are better than bbells for working specific muscles and for not letting you compensate so I haven't tried to get a bar.

Is it retarded to try to lift for gains while also trying to lose fat and diet? is there anyway to do both while complementing each other?

how long should sessions be?

are bread and dairy and sugar the main gains killers?

are there any charts of different dumbbells workouts?

If you're only going 3x a week start with something like SL or GSLP. PPL once a week isn't enough frequency. You could be squatting 3x a week, PPL would have you doing it 1x a week.

Get a bar. Dumbbells are good for accessory work but for actually performing the main compounds at a beginner level they're shit. Get on gumtree/craigslist and get a cheap bar and weights. If you can get a squat rack welded up then you've the same home gym I had

Nigga me too. I'm 6'1 162# and look fat as all fuck. Gonna have to cut. I BP 135lb for 5 though. Still, my front squat is at 75x3. Just worry about good form. Onc it's nailed down, then start adding weight.

Go on a cut. Use something like MyFitnessPal to track calories. Track EVERYTHING you eat. Get in at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Ex: You weigh 150lb, that means eat 150g protein everyday. And lift with good form while adding weight. For a novice it's called a recomp. You will build muscle and lose fat if you do what I just said.

Skinnyfat fuck doing SL for 2 months now. I've had two bad weeks where I don't increase weight because of nightshifts fucking with my rest.

> 170cm
> 64kg to 67kg
> OHP: bar to 32.5kg (5x5)
> BP: bar to 42.5kg (5x5)
> Squat: bar to 67.5kg (5x5)
> DL: 40kg(?) to 75kg (1x5)
> Row: 45kg
> Chinups: usually 6 reps per set, 4x6-4x5

Thoughts about my progress?

I am currently eating 2700 kcal a day, was eating 2500kcal for a 3 weeks and didn't go up in weight so added 200.

Fairly sure I could have been higher, but the nightshifts really fuck with training.

I can see improvement phsyically because I never really had any muscle. I'm probably 22%BF but I plan to just keep at 2700kcal til i hit 70kg and then cut down. Should still have noobgains while cutting so.

Thoughts?

Bump

Protip: Your DNA remembers your gains and makes it easier to regain your gains if you ever lose them.

Google "Human Skeletal Muscle Possesses an Epigenetic Memory of Hypertrophy". It's published in Nature. I can't link it here without Veeky Forums thinking it's spam.

Skelly here
6'0 and 135 lbs last time I got on the scale
Started in November starting strength and today I deadlifted 100kg, starting from 70.
Ohp is only 35 kg but progressing, started at 30. Bench is 63 kg, started at 40. Squats aren't progressing much, I've got long phemurs so maybe that's it but I can only squat 55kg while reaching below parallel.
So overall meh progress but I'm also not eating at much of a surplus so I find it acceptable

5'8" 142 manlet here bout to start alphadestinys novice routine with added stuff for the calf.
Workout A

Box Squat 3/5×4-6
Floor Press or Pause Bench 3/5×4-6
Pendlay Row 3/5×4-6
Overhead Barbell Extension 3×6-10
Barbell/Dumbbell Preacher Curl 3×6-10
Stiff-Legged Deadlift/Good Morning 2-3×6-10
Weighted Plank 3×30-60s

Workout B

Box Squat 3/5×4-6
Paused Overhead Press 3/5×4-6
Trap-Bar Deadlift 2×4-6
Close-Grip Bench Press 3×6-8
Weighted Chin-up 3×3-5
Weighted Plank 3×30-60s

Does anyone have any experience with this? To me it looks good but I wanna make sure I got my bases covered

Fuck this isnt qtddtot

It basically is

make sure your form is good. wasted half a year half repping my bench and moving my arms from my sides during curls.

Check your thyroid

it's probably just neuromuscular efficiency issues
Do some push ups and keep working at it

Im new,what app/site is this?

if i i lifted really shitty with a bad overload progressive scheme in my first 2 years can i still make 'noob gains if i go on a well designed progressive overload program? are noob gains based on a time window or is it the potential for your body for gaining muslcles up to a limit where you then need more volume? or has my body 'adapted' to my shitty program now and my body would be less incline for gains as opposed to starting off with a well programmed progressive overload routine where my body was more in a nascent state ripe for muscle confusion and periodization?

Lol what the fuck... you're literally me, im 68kg started 29 dec and my stats are:
OHP: 30kg Bench: 45kg Squat: 75kg Dead: 90kg and 47.5kg Rows
My guy looks similar to yours, i went from 63 to 68kg too lmao, wtf.

Yeah OHP and bench are sons of bitches to improve man, i feel your pain on those two seriously.

>tfw so atrophied I can't even do a single pushup
How do I bounce back, guys?

>tfw still entirely untrained on symmetric strength
6'6" 155lb ultra-skele. Making slow but steady progress though. Gained 5lbs this past month and have a visible muscle now. Progress is progress.

symmetric strength

Good stuff mate. Think about adding weight to your chinups, just get a cheap dip belt of ebay or amazon. Nice!

congrats on the rest, squat is an issue though. deadlift? Watch the Art of Manliness on How to Squat, sounds like a form issue.

closeness to genetic potential. Look at Alan Thrall. So your body is adapted to shitty program, so yes has lost some potential but it hasn't been subjcted to the stress of a well structured linear progression program? What are your lifts though?

we'll all make it

are you using leg drive for the bench press?

ey my 63kg brother. nearly identical stats. how tall are you?

I place my feet flat on the floor and push them down as I'm pushing the bar up, is this what you mean?

this is nice progress, gj

I'm doing a super-relaxed bodyweight thing at the moment. It's basically my first time actually working out and it's going great. I've been going since October. I've only lost about 10 pounds, but I'm not measuring anything so it's bound to be like that. Workouts for an hour 3 times a week, eggs for lunch, chicken breast or ground turkey for dinner. Running at a deficit, cheat days on weekends, cut out soda entirely.

So far I'm losing man-boob and tummy fat at a gorgeous pace. I was sore as fuck for the first few weeks, but now I'm past that. My arms and chest are way more defined and I can feel my muscles getting bigger and stronger even though I'm losing weight overall. I basically used to look like a featureless blob. I feel like that thing in One Punch Man where he gets serious and they start drawing him with muscles and facial features instead of an egg with noodle arms.

My shirts are getting looser at the torso where the boobs and tummy were and tighter on the sleeves where biceps now exist. I kind of love this

Lol he never answered after this question thanks to depression

So close

or maybe because I went to sleep and woke up again nearly 10 hours later between my first and second posts. who knows

Just wanted to come in here and start a secondary discussion on "noob gains."

I think noob gains only exist for guys that have been involved in sports, athletic activities, or led an active life prior to actually picking up weights, because they've already built muscle to be used as a base. For a skinny nerd, noob gains don't last for more than, say, a week, because by that point he's already maxed out what little muscle he has, and therefore needs to begin serious hypertrophy training in order to pack it on. I experienced this myself, since I was a skinnyfat nerd most of my life.

Further, I think programs like SS don't necessarily work for skinny weak nerd types because the volume is too high and the weight progression is too rapid unless you're taking steroids. Personally, even though I was eating at a bulking level according to Scooby's calculator, I simply couldn't recover from the heavy 5x5 days fast enough, and I couldn't keep adding the weight as dictated because my muscles were maxed out and I was straining my tendons and ligaments to do the job, which heal WAY slower than muscles. I stopped and restarted multiple times over the years, and eventually got disappointed and quit, but after doing a lot of research into old-timey strongmen and their routines, I came up with a solution that I call, "Starting Weak."

(1/2)

this is objectively wrong

noob gains are also neural gains, but that's yet another discussion. a beginner with no prior exercise experience on a program can gain a few kg per month of pure muscle. the key is diet. you were doing something wrong

(2/2)
The idea is that you're too fucking weak to start hitting heavy weights, so you get your body used to lifting loads before you go into SS or some other novice program. It looks like this:

AxAxAxA
1x12. Start with a weight you can comfortably lift 12 times in one set, then increase by 5 pounds and attempt to reach 12 reps the next time. If you can't do it in one set, do a second set that adds up to 12 total. Then keep lifting until you can lift the weight 12 times in a single set.
Also, every day strip down naked in front of a mirror, and focus on trying to flex each of your major muscle groups independently and without straining yourself. Work on it until you can flex them at will without having to look at them. This gets your mind and nervous system familiar with contracting the proper muscles when lifting weights.

Overhead Press
Bench Press
Pull-Downs
Barbell Rows
Squat
Deadlift

This is a low-volume, full-body workout that gets the tendons, ligaments, connective tissues, and arteries strong enough to start lifting heavy. It's a fairly easy workout, but you're activating your entire CNS and getting it ready to handle heavy loads. Soon enough, you'll reach a weight that you just can't get past with a single set of 12 reps, and then that's when you know you're ready to begin SS or another novie program.

Personally, I did this workout for 2 months, and now I'm a point where I need higher volumes to progress on weight, so I've been doing SS for about 2 weeks now and already I feel much more energetic than before, and I'm not nearly as sore between workouts as I was during my previous attempts. I hope this helps anyone who had a similar problem as I did. Your thoughts?

i do like your idea about flexing each muscle groups

I have been trying to gain muscle while cutting on calories. My muscles have been getting harder and I moved up on weights a little, but I am not sure on whether the size is increasing or not. It's only been two weeks though, what should I expect?

I've been at it for a little over two months and I've made great progress.

Started at 30kg/50kg/40kg/40kg OHP/Bench/Squat/Deadlift

I'm at 52.5kg/67.5kg/95kg/110kg now.

The hardest part is going from eating nothing to eating 3k calories a day. That's murder.

3k is nothing. That’s a chipotle burrito and a #2 from Mickey Ds. That’s a bowl of cereal and dinner at Olive Garden. Harden the fuck up

If you are still in the novice phase as defined by symmetricstrength after 6 months of lifting, you should just give up. You're never gonna make it.

>He struggles at getting 3k calories
Can we switch bodies? I'm /fat/ and i can do that for you easily and add 2k on it

skinnyfat here

lifted about 1 year ago where i was at 60kg squat

been a slob the past 6 months+ and am going to lift again with this chick too

shouldi start back with the bar or what

If youre going up in weight obviously you arent cutting calories. I understand where you are coming from though, because I am doing the same. I am about 6 months of eating relatively calorie deficite, but good protein intake (whey).
I look DYEL with a shirt and hoodie on, but I've lost a good amount of body fat. so in the summer Ill be ready. Focus on upper body/back and do legs once a week.

get the doms out of the way first with some light weight first and pick up from there.

so warm up with the bar and maybe working sets with like bar + 2,5kg on each side then?

man it'll suck doing ohp with solely the bar again

how fast were your lifts going up?

I would warm up on machines, then start with the bar. If you can swallow your pride and do that hip machine the women use, it works yo.

nah mang i hate machines
love how the bar feels even if it makes me sad about how """good"" i once as

If you're completely noob then yes, You will gain. You do as the user said need to increase the progression difficulty as higher reps won't do it however. Ignore anyone that says you can't/won't get ripped from calisthenics. It requires more focus and study to make sure you're constantly pushing yourself but you absolutely can get mad gains from it. Afterwards you will have mastery of the movement of your body, more so than lifting things linearly.

My gym at home goes to 225.
>Deadlift came back relatively quick (used to deadlift 315@135lbs) right now I can rep 225 and I weight 150lbs -ish.
>Squat, I don't really go heavy (my knees are fucked up).
> Bench Press has always been my weakest. I went from 90lbsx8reps to about 175x1 before a small rotator cuff injury. I think I could one rep 165/155 no problem right now.
Ive worked out prior to this for years, so thats important to mention. Best advice is to make friends with some heavy ass dumbbells.

I know that feel kek
I just havent used a machine in son long, I forget how it feels. I only have like a bar, captains chair, dumbbells/kettlebell and yoga ball
I miss the leg machines