Getting in over your head

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
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It seems that with the advent of T-Nation there are a LOT of new folks coming into the fold of the forums. This is mostly a good thing. I just wanted to offer a “Public Service Announcement” to some of you who may be trying the workouts and diets found in this wonderful magazine, as well as some of the underground information regarding the use of androgens for physique enhancement and/or athletic performance.

First, if you're new to training, or even an experienced weightlifter who has never dieted specifically for fat loss, please "start small". In other words, it probably isn't a good idea to start Renegade Training or EDT while simultaneously doing the Fat Fast. You will likely burn out and get discouraged. You may even get sick. Start with something like Chris Shugart's current version of the T-Dawg coupled with a reasonable training program. Eat correctly for your goals and activity levels, and be realistic. In other words, don't expect to kick ass in the gym while dieting down, and don't expect to go hypocaloric to put on muscle without at least a little fat gain.

Simultaneously, recognize that some of us are able to do take some pretty extreme measures to get to our physique goals. Some of us are not. There is variance in what works for us, and it is up to the individual to find the right coupling of diet and training to get to where they want to be. Not everyone can train intensely seven days a week, eat less than 100 grams of carbs a day, hold down a full time job, and manage family affairs. If you are someone who can't, then modify your training program and diet accordingly. Exercise should enhance your life, not be a substitute for it.

Remember that no amount of supplements are going to make up for a shitty diet and half assed training routine, unless those "supplements" are of the illegal, injectable variety, in which case, you have no business using them in the first place.

Finally remember that you must be patient. Gains and physique changes will come in time. Newbies have it best. They see their bodies changing every week as a result of their efforts. The longer you do this, the more patience you must cultivate within yourself. You know the guy at your gym that put on 75 pounds of muscle in his first year of training? The one who doesn't shower at the gym because of the abscesses in his glutes and the acne on his back? The very same guy who is at this moment noticing that one of his nipples itches constantly and is a little swollen and sore, and will probably end up on HRT for the rest of his life? Don't be that guy. If you're gonna juice, educate yourself and build a solid foundation first.

Hope everyone is getting where they want to be.

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Well said.

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well said. thank you. i think the t-mentality has been summarized nicely. patience, i agree, is too often overlooked. we all want the perfect physique now. hell, i want it yesterday. listen to demo dick; he has put succinctly what the content of this magazine has been trying to tell all of us. let’s thank him, and the nation as a whole. peace.

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Great post.

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Great post, Demo!! Thank you.

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Wow. Unbelievable post.

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O wow!

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I normally wouldnt do this but you criticize people for spelling and gramma all the time. A ‘weightlifter’ is someone that competes in the clean and jerk and the snatch. Why single out ‘weightlifters’ when powerlifters strongman competitors, in fact most people that train with weights will never have “dieted specifically for fat loss”.

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Nice job Demo. Good advice for the newbies who are being overwhelmed by the information on T-mag.

Also, a weightlifter does not specifically state that it has to be someone who does the clean and jerk and snatch. To be precise, that is an Olympic weightlifter, so don’t use a general term to refer to something specific. Anyone who lifts weights can be called a weightlifter.

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Nate Dogg brings up a nice point. Yes a lot of information is good, but you’re right- overwhelming is just downright confusing!


The sort of questions that are turning up here are precisely that hinted at here. - "Been training a long time (6 months), and have decided to start the super high tension renegade ironman Russian volume counterbalance program.


“As I want to gain mass, I thought I’d go on the super ketogenic high density, low volume, non-food combining, MRP but only Sundays, paleolithic, fat loss, mass gain diet”

WHY!!??


-when if you kept it simple you could have twice the gains with half the effort and thought. Especially in the first few years of training, progression is usually very swift, provided we keep a grasp of the basics- good diet, moderate effective exercise, and rest.


Sure, there’s a suitable candidate for EVERY program posted here in the archives of T-mag and other similar good websites. However the more technical sounding programs are indeed for the athletes with more technical needs! I have a basic premise- If I don’t understand the program’s aim, it’s end goal, it’s purported scientific training (diet) mechanism to get to this goal, and its application TO ME AS AN INDIVIDUAL at this point in time, I don’t follow it. I will guarantee results will be greatly reduced if one just follows a program blindly bacause that’s what it says to do.

For the purpose of the new trainee, the T-mag FAQ’s provides ALL the information a new trainee could require. It has been steadily fine-tuned over the last few years to accomodate almost all variables concerning diet and training.

If this STILL doesn’t provide the answers, despite additional searches, THEN hit the forum- you MUST have an interesting question indeed!

I think the forums would be much less cluttered and of better quality if this procedure was followed. (Don't get me wrong- they're not of BAD quality now, but there's always room for improvement).

Perhaps we could have an arrowed sign on the T-Mag homepage saying "Newcomers start here", giving basic guidance on how to set off on the T-man track?

Good luck to all. SRS

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Its just a generalization. “Weighlifters” I know me and demo don’t see eye to eye on certian issues, but he does have a point on proper, spelling and grammer. This was a great thread. And all newbies should read it.

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Do you lift weights? Then you’re a weightlifter. 'Nuff said.

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Great post! can’t think of anything to add.

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Great Job Demo!

I am one of those that just cannot be at the top of my game (or even close) on a low carb diet. I was doing T-Dawg 2.0 and training CrossFit and Pankration and it was definitely affecting my performance (read... getting my ass kicked) and I would get some pretty bad headaches as well. But I was dropping the fat. so it is all a balancing act.

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Fantastic job there DD ! I hope everyine gets a chance to read this post. It really puts things into perspective.

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Great post. Keep up the good work.

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“I know me and demo don’t see eye to eye on certian issues, but he does have a point on proper, spelling and grammer.”

You wrote that above but I guess you dont practise what you preach, in terms of "grammer". Do you see anything that looks funny in what you wrote?

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You are WRONG. A weightlifter is a term that is used to describe people that participate in weightlifting which is a sport that involves the clean and jerk and the snatch.

You say that anyone that lifts weights is a weightlifter, does that mean that every human in the world should be considered a weight lifter. After all anything that has a mass and is in an area where there is a gravity is a weight.

Does that mean that every living human is also a powerlifter as there is some degree of power in all human movements?

For someone that is so pedantic it is interesting to see you argueing a point with such bullshit statements.

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I never said I was a great speller, or even have good grammer. I am probably the worst on this forum. I just said DD does have a vaild point. DD has attacked me numeorus times on my grammer. But, I do understand where he is coming from. I was just shocked that this thread came out of him. Just kidding DD :slight_smile:

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Demo - Great post for those from both a newbie standpoint and an “oldie” standpoint. Another great post, but I’m used to that from you.

Okay, about the weightlifter thing. Check out the first definition of "weightlifter" on dictionary.com: One who lifts heavy weights for exercise or in an athletic competition. I don't want to hear shit about the source of the definition; it works as a plausible definition of "weightlifter" as used by Demo Dick. (Note: I picked up on the implied definition from "context clues". They're fun! Try them!)