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Beginner's Gains and What Affects Them

Beginners
#1

question, been training for about a year and a half now. however i think looking back ive always under ate in an attempt to stay lean and get ripped. do people think that this would have affected the so called beginners gains?

also as i am a taller lifter with long levers its quite obvious what lifts dont suit me… namingly the back squat. ive never felt enought quad stim from it, always squatting a to g. do you think im right to go to things like leg presses and hack squats with some normal squatting here and there or should i continue to get my squat up regardless?

#2

[quote]titleist55 wrote:
question, been training for about a year and a half now. however i think looking back ive always under ate in an attempt to stay lean and get ripped. do people think that this would have affected the so called beginners gains?[/quote]
No. I don’t think would. I know it. From personal experience and from training others.

If you are training in a bodybuilding sense, you do whatever it takes to get the results you’re looking for. I have switched my leg routine around quite a bit trying to stimulate my lower quads, and I’ve found that doing squats last helps a lot. I start with isolation lifts for both quads and hams, and finish up with 3x10 squats. It makes the squats suck that much more (um, i mean… makes them that much more awesome), but my entire thigh feels much more worked the next day.

#3

[quote]titleist55 wrote:
question, been training for about a year and a half now. however i think looking back ive always under ate in an attempt to stay lean and get ripped. do people think that this would have affected the so called beginners gains?

also as i am a taller lifter with long levers its quite obvious what lifts dont suit me… namingly the back squat. ive never felt enought quad stim from it, always squatting a to g. do you think im right to go to things like leg presses and hack squats with some normal squatting here and there or should i continue to get my squat up regardless?[/quote]

Me thinks the Rippetoe article is taylor made for you today: http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/when_it_comes_to_squats_easier_doesnt_work

Find a way to do DEEP squats (practice with the Goblet squat to get the form down) and get STRONG AS HELL on them. Tall people can squat too.

If, after you have given is a serious effort, you find you can genuinely not perform squats without pain you may try something else like the leg press or hack squats for overall size, but they aren’t as good.