Journey to being jacked | Beginner's Log

Training Logs
87

Just food for thought: you likely won’t end up looking like either in those pictures, but don’t think of that as a bad thing - like at all. Your muscles will develop however your genetics tell them to, and you very well could find yourself bigger than either dude you’ve put up there. It’s not a bad thing to have a ‘goal physique’ in mind, and I approve of you re-envisioning what that goal may end up looking like; this is something that most people don’t pick up on until much later in their journey (sorry, there isn’t a great chance you’ll end up looking like Arnold’s body double).

All that being said, your goal of being “muscular and functionally strong” is 10/10 and always achievable with effort.

On a slightly different note, I heard a really valid argument from Mike Isratel (youtube gains guru) as to the best way to make long-term gains from beginner to advanced… He recommended starting off powerlifting. Reason being: you’re still going to put on muscle for sure, but you’re also going to have an extremely strong foundation of movement patterns that will effectively be your base for all other movements (deads, squats, overhead press, bench, etc.). Once you have your foundational movements locked down, you could then move over to more hypertrophy focus - or bodybuilding. Using the strength and technique from powerlifting allows you to push yourself harder on a lot of exercises that could otherwise end up causing injury if your form failed.

Anyways, for when you go back to Uni, going about a powerlifting approach may be a great option to keep your exercise duration shorter while also building towards the future (and your goals). If this doesn’t appeal to you - feel free to ignore it, I’m just some dude on the interwebs anyways =). Regardless, I’m impressed with your level of dedication and getting off on the right foot - it is seldom seen!

2 Likes
88

Legs
Friday, Jan 28, 2022

Squat (Barbell)
Set 1: 20 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 30 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 40 kg x 8 [Warm-up]
Set 4: 50 kg x 5
Set 5: 50 kg x 5
Set 6: 50 kg x 5
Set 7: 50 kg x 5
Set 8: 50 kg x 5

Romanian Deadlift (Barbell)
Set 1: 40 kg x 8
Set 2: 40 kg x 8
Set 3: 40 kg x 8

Leg Press (Machine)
Set 1: 100 kg x 10
Set 2: 100 kg x 9
Set 3: 100 kg x 10

Seated Leg Curl (Machine)
Set 1: 45 kg x 12
Set 2: 45 kg x 12
Set 3: 45 kg x 10

Leg Extension (Machine)
Set 1: 45 kg x 12
Set 2: 45 kg x 12
Set 3: 45 kg x 10

Pretty happy with yesterdays workout. Forgot to post it. Almost time for today’s chest day!

3 Likes
89

Thanks for that! It’s been so much fun these last weeks and I’ve learnt tonnes. My commitment has also been a reason why my aversion to being too big has shifted a little. I enjoy being in the gym for the time being and so I suppose I’ve become more ok with being on the bigger side than I was previously. I’m also curious about what my body looks like when I’m ripped. So yeah, I suppose I don’t really want to be as big as possible, but at the moment I’m more inclined to train as if that was the goal.

Regarding the powerlifting, I will look into some of these. I think it may be good also to push myself more in terms of getting myself to progressive overload more. Also to build my confidence lifting heavier.

1 Like
90

@Andrewgen_Receptors is right about starting off with a powerlifting routine. That is exactly what i did and it worked incredible.

i had a strong foundation and carved my body out exactly the way i wanted to look

2 Likes
91

Push
Saturday, Jan 29, 2022

Overhead Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 20 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 30 kg x 5
Set 3: 30 kg x 5
Set 4: 30 kg x 5
Set 5: 30 kg x 5
Set 6: 30 kg x 5

Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 20 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 30 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 40 kg x 12
Set 4: 40 kg x 12
Set 5: 40 kg x 12

Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 30 kg x 10
Set 2: 30 kg x 9
Set 3: 30 kg x 8

Triceps Pushdown
Set 1: 35 kg x 12
Set 2: 35 kg x 12
Set 3: 35 kg x 12

Front Raise (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 6 kg x 19
Set 2: 6 kg x 19
Set 3: 6 kg x 19

Triceps Extension (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 15 kg x 8
Set 2: 15 kg x 8
Set 3: 15 kg x 8

Lateral Raise (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 6 kg x 15
Set 2: 6 kg x 15
Set 3: 6 kg x 16

Pretty happy with today’s workout. Did a few sets of bi’s + tri’s afterwards and ended off with a sick pump.

2 Likes
92

Hi all. So I haven’t had time this week to gym yet because I’ve been really busy moving back to uni. However, come saturday, I should start training properly. So I’ve decided to do a powerlifting programme: should I go for a beginner or intermediate programme? Also, do you know of any meal plans to follow while on a bulk? I’m thinking of following one of these for the time being so I can simplify things for a few weeks in terms of food as I get back into the university groove. It also makes tracking calories, so much more easy.

93

I wouldn’t jump into an “intermediate” program as you still are in your beginner phase (sorry!). That being said, there is a strong dogma of “you’re too new to do this program, bro” in this crazy world we live in, so don’t believe everything you read online.

This forum is FULL of 5/3/1 fan boys (and girls) and for very good reason. I haven’t done it myself, but @T3hPwnisher has, and he’s on a different level of physical prowess. You might do well to stalk his training log(s) for insight. Some of the most commonly recommended strength programs i see are Super Squats, and 5/3/1. Going to tag @FlatsFarmer because he’s a wealth of knowledge on strength training as well. Plenty of others on this site are extremely knowledgeable, I’m still getting my feet under me regarding who’s who around here though - so if other advice is offered, it’s probably worth entertaining.

I could also recommend starting a thread under #beginners asking for strength program recommendations. If you choose to do this, let people know your goals, PRs, and any relevant progress. I would offer more advice regarding strength training but my dumb ass only got semi-respectable PR numbers out of sheer stupidity and brute force.

P.S. nothing wrong with missing a few days here and there, just make sure you keep these goals as a priority in your life. Even at slow progress, you’ll be astounded what can happen in 6 months, a year, 2 years, etc. Most of the biggest guys you’ll ever see have been doing this for decades they just didnt stop.

2 Likes
94

I agree with Andrew, start a thread to get some input from guys who powerlift now, to see what advice they have for a guy starting out. He’s also right about letting people know you goals.

I’d also think about what answers you want to hear. What do you think a “Power Lifting” routine should look like? You’re liable to get all kinds of answers about what sort of program to run. To save some time you might be able to ask what you’re looking for more clearly.

Do you want to do one lift a day, with some assistance stuff, real close to what you’re currently doing? Or are you trying to squat/bench/dead several times each week?

Are you trying to do a powerlifting meet sometime soon, and looking for a specific pre-contest 16 week plan? Or just to get “stronger” for a couple years?

Do you have your eye on any program in particular now?

2 Likes
95

Thanks so much Andrew! You’ve really given me some great advice these past month. It’s really helped me become more confident in the gym.

So, definitely gonna go for a powerlifting workout. I was looking at super squats - but it seems a bit intense for now. I definitely want to do it though - I’m thinking while bulking on august just before a summer cut (i’m from the Southern hemisphere).

For now, I think perhaps a beginners 531 and continuing the bulk. Definitely size is my main goal at the moment so think bulking is the way. Anyway, I’m gonna create that thread in the beginners forum and see if I can get any workout suggestions.

1 Like
96

Thanks! So i think I’m looking to do one lift a day with some assistance work. The main reason I wanna do this is to get stronger and (really) bigger. So far I’ve considered nsuns, super squats and 531 (I’m leaning to this last one). I think my goal right now is to build as much muscle as possible before next summer(next december). So I suppose my current goal is gaining muscle.

97

Bench
Wednesday, Feb 09, 2022

Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 20 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 30 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 35 kg x 5
Set 4: 40 kg x 5
Set 5: 40 kg x 5
Set 6: 45 kg x 5
Set 7: 50 kg x 5
Set 8: 55 kg x 5

Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 32 kg x 10
Set 2: 32 kg x 10
Set 3: 32 kg x 10

Triceps Extension (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 16 kg x 8
Set 2: 16 kg x 9
Set 3: 16 kg x 8

Lateral Raise (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 8 kg x 12
Set 2: 8 kg x 12
Set 3: 8 kg x 11

Triceps Pushdown
Set 1: 15 kg x 8
Set 2: 15 kg x 10
Set 3: 15 kg x 10

Seated Shoulder Press (Machine)
Set 1: 20 kg x 12
Set 2: 20 kg x 10
Set 3: 20 kg x 10

Started off with Bench today - feeling pretty psyched about being back in the gym properly. It’s a new gym so also just getting used to the equipment. On the food side it’s been slightly more challenging - I’m cooking for myself now and it feels like I’m cooking half the time. I need to get into a meal prep and plan a few weeks in advance I think, so if you guys have any meal ideas please shoot them my way!

1 Like
98

Glad to see you back at it. I’m cooking all the time as well, but meal prepping lunch and dinner works well for me. Nothing exciting unfortunately, it’s usually chicken+rice and beef+rice, green beans or broccoli to help fill empty space (I’m cutting).

I only meal prep 4 days at a time; makes splitting portions easier, and food only lasts so long (some would say no more than 3 days in advance, but 4 has worked fine for me for years). My nutrition is far from perfect as I’m still learning how my body responds to carbs/fats, but finding a few low-calorie sauces can make a world of difference when it comes to meal-prepping chicken.
For lunch (divide these by 4 for a single ‘lunch’):
250g (uncooked) rice
3lbs raw chicken breast
1.5-2lbs mushrooms

I mix the mushrooms into the rice to stretch carbs because mushrooms are very low in caloric density.
I also lightly coat the chicken breast with butter or bacon fat (not more than 2tbsp total), then season with salt, garlic, paprika, chili powder, and cayenne. (All these seasonings go pretty well if you mix them into some bread crumbs to coat top of chicken too)

For dinner (divide by 4):
2lbs 93% lean ground beef (grassfed/organic if it’s a good price)
250g (uncooked) rice
1.5-2lbs green beans or broccoli

Standard salt/pepper on ground beef, but I also find putting a healthy dose of chili powder on the beef makes it more palatable.
I make a ‘sauce’ from low fat mayo, low fat sour cream, and sriracha (recipe stolen from HelloFresh) that goes well on almost anything. I just put down a bed of rice, then ground beef, then the sauce, and it all works out alright. Looks like cat food but tastes good and meets my protein/carbs/fats needs.

I had this whole thing typed out about caloric intake and macros, then I remembered that it had already been written (far more effectively) in this article.

I wouldn’t recommend counting macros eternally because it takes a lot of fun out of food, but when you have specific goals - I stand by them as a method for tracking progress and knowing how/what to adjust.

I probably rambled a lot on this post, but its a lot of information to go over. Your diet certainly doesnt have to be dialed in right now, you’re still going through physiological adaptations due to lifting (aka beginner gains), and you probably still won’t need to have your diet 100% dialed in for a few years. That being said, make sure you get your protein in, and don’t let yourself get fat. You can ‘bulk’ while still maintaining a certain level of lean-ness, you just don’t want to get so fluffy that it becomes an extreme effort to lean out (I did this, and I’m paying for it now).

1 Like
99

Hey man, it’s been a few days - you still with us?
No sweat if you fell off the gain train for a bit, it happens to everyone. Stick with it buddy, you’ll be happy you did.

1 Like
100

Hi, yes I did kinda fall off for a bit because I’ve been pummelled with coursework. I’m going to gym today, so I should be back in the routine for the next week since I’ve put together my schedule and have found the time where I’ll go to gym. Definitely keen to get back into it again though. I’ve been feeling pretty antsy and restless lately.

1 Like
101

Push
Tuesday, Feb 22, 2022

Incline Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 20 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 30 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 40 kg x 8 [Warm-up]
Set 4: 45 kg x 5
Set 5: 45 kg x 5
Set 6: 45 kg x 5
Set 7: 45 kg x 5
Set 8: 45 kg x 5

Bench Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 32 kg x 10
Set 2: 32 kg x 10
Set 3: 32 kg x 10

Seated Overhead Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 16 kg x 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 16 kg x 9
Set 3: 16 kg x 10
Set 4: 16 kg x 9

Triceps Extension (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 16 kg x 9
Set 2: 16 kg x 8
Set 3: 16 kg x 8

Lateral Raise (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 8 kg x 10
Set 2: 8 kg x 12
Set 3: 8 kg x 10

Chest Fly (Machine)
Set 1: 12 kg x 12
Set 2: 12 kg x 12
Set 3: 12 kg x 12

So this is yesterday’s workout. Going now to do today’s.

3 Likes
102

Pull
Thursday, Feb 24, 2022

Deadlift (Barbell)
Set 1: 60 kg x 5
Set 2: 60 kg x 5
Set 3: 60 kg x 5

Iso-Lateral Row (Machine)
Set 1: 40 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 60 kg x 10
Set 3: 60 kg x 9
Set 4: 60 kg x 8

Lat Pulldown (Cable)
Set 1: 40 kg x 7
Set 2: 45 kg x 5
Set 3: 45 kg x 5
Set 4: 45 kg x 5

Seated Cable Row
Set 1: 42.5 kg x 11
Set 2: 42.5 kg x 10
Set 3: 42.5 kg x 9

Dumbbell Row
Set 1: 16 kg x 12
Set 2: 16 kg x 10
Set 3: 16 kg x 9

EZ Bar Biceps Curl
Set 1: 10 kg x 12
Set 2: 10 kg x 12
Set 3: 10 kg x 12

Weights were a bit low on the deads. I haven’t done them for a few weeks so I figured I’d start at 60 today just to get the feel again.

3 Likes
103

Hi everyone,

So I fell off the bus a little with uni starting and also getting used to when the ideal times to work out were in my schedule. However, for past few week I have been consistently going to the gym 4 days a week. Now that I’m going consistently I feel like it makes sense to log my workout’s again.

While I feel like my workout is back to where it should be, the eating part is rather challenging. Getting enough food is a little tricky. Also since feb I’ve lost around 3kg’s, most probably cause it’s much more challenging to get more food in cooking for yourself. Also I walk to campus everyday (and pretty mucch everywhere), so that’s probably gonna mean I need more food. I’m thinking of getting myself a protein shake to bridge the gap a little. Also, once I get into the meal prep mindset all should be good. I should be well on the way with continuing my bulk pretty soon. The one upside is that because of all the walking I’ve been shedding fat. I’m probably gonna aim to eat around 3 to 3.5k calories a day. I’ll watch my weight though and reduce/raise if needs be.

Anyway, I did a pull session on monday which was pretty goods and did a push session today. Here’s today’s workout.

Push
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2022 at 10:02am

Incline Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 20 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 30 kg x 12 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 40 kg x 8 [Warm-up]
Set 4: 45 kg x 5
Set 5: 45 kg x 5
Set 6: 50 kg x 5
Set 7: 50 kg x 5
Set 8: 50 kg x 5

Shoulder Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 28 kg x 7
Set 2: 24 kg x 10
Set 3: 24 kg x 8
Set 4: 24 kg x 8

Bench Press (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 28 kg x 11
Set 2: 28 kg x 11
Set 3: 28 kg x 10

Triceps Extension (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 14 kg x 10
Set 2: 14 kg x 9
Set 3: 14 kg x 8

Lateral Raise (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 8 kg x 12
Set 2: 8 kg x 10
Set 3: 8 kg x 10

Triceps Pushdown
Set 1: 15 kg x 10
Set 2: 15 kg x 8
Set 3: 15 kg x 6

Cross Body Hammer Curl
Set 1: 8 kg x 12
Set 2: 8 kg x 12
Set 3: 8 kg x 12

Also, a friend recommended I take creatine so I just started taking that this week and doing the loading phase. Pretty psyched for the next few months - really gonna push myself for the next 12 weeks!

4 Likes
104

Glad to see you back. Nothing wrong with protein shakes; college is tough enough as is, nevermind added cooking too.

If you’re constantly finding yourself struggling to get enough calories in, it might be worth your time to consider a mass gainer. I’ve never needed or used one, but some people find them convenient enough to justify the cost.

2 Likes
105

I would consider leaving the creatine off for a week or so, simply so you have a level of “control”. Creatine can do wonders for people, or it can do nothing. You’ll have a better idea which it is if you aren’t doing it while restarting lifting.

2 Likes
106

TBH I didn’t supplement creatine for over a decade and did just fine. I added it into my nutrition regimen and feel no difference… I just take it because it’s ony of those things you don’t feel or see a difference in - it just makes your body work better.

2 Likes