Help Me Understand Lifting

Im not new, I had a p.t for a while and was able to bench 135 lbs in 5-7 months(first 2 months I was doing mostly machines lol) but I just relied on the p.t and never really researched stuff which is wrong. I want to start working out again , Im buying dumbells from 5kg - 50 kg , a bench, a pull up bar and dip station and some barbell and olympic weights.

I want to understand how muscle grows. If I were to do squats 3 times a week and just that with lots of protien and a calorie surplus will the hit muscle grow? same with even an isolation excercise like bicep curls, if I were to go in my gym and just do bicep curls for 3-4 sets would biceps increase? Im not gonna neglect anything just for information and confidence sake I wana understand this.

Short answer, yes, long aswer read Starting Strength and then get 5/3/1. Read everything. Its alot to buy without being fully committed, maybe do it in steps and just go to the gym?

Your body responds to repeated exposure to stress by adapting to it. Lifting stuff is a stress. The adaptations are muscle growth and strength increase. Muscle growth also needs fuel (food) and time (recovery). So a really important part of training is eating enough of the right stuff and resting enough.

Best way to go about this:

Lift things three to four days a week. Eat mostly good food. Try to get eight hours sleep a night (if you can’t it isn’t a huge deal as long as you’re eating enough). Do it for three months. If you’re happy with your progress, do it for another three months and repeat. If you’re not happy with your progress, figure out what you aren’t happy with and make changes accordingly.

You seem to want to know what will make bits of you grow. This should help:

Legs: squats, front squats, lunges, split squats
Shoulders: military press, lateral raises, rear delt flyes, plate raises
Chest: bench press, push-ups, dips
Back: barbell rows, dumbbell rows, pull-ups, chin-ups, inverted rows
Arms: everything for chest, shoulders and back will do most of the work. Add in some curls, tricep extensions and skull crushers for good measure

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what can I expect in 3 months? interms of muscle gain? can I grow muscle size in this short frame of time?
last time I was training with a trainer I didnt really look any different interms of muscle size even though my strength was increasing . Guess I was eating at maintenance getting stronger at the same weight.

Re-read Mark’s post three or four times. That’ll cover plenty of ground.

There’s also Part 1 and Part 2 of an article series that covers a ton of beginners’ info (probably too much info, really).

Depends on a lot of variables like your current size (height/weight/bodyfat), your age, your exact training, your exact nutrition, your experience level, etc. A skinny 18-year old guy who’s never trained before could gain 35 pounds in 3 months with the right diet and training. A 48-year old guy with a Dad Bod who’s been training 15 years might be lucky to gain 5 pounds without increasing his gut.

Of course it would. Simply eating a calorie surplus without training will make you gain “weight”. Training correctly while eating a calorie surplus will make you gain muscle. Training basically tells your body “make these muscles bigger and stronger, because this weight lifting stuff is hard and we don’t want to die.”

That’s a very common mistake. A lot of people overlook the importance of nutrition, then wonder why they’re not seeing results. Diet can definitely make or break your progress.

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That’s not a really productive question, because any unequivocal answer will most probably be wrong. When it comes to training (probably other endeavours too), a better question is, what do I need to do to achieve (insert goal here).

A decent rule of thumb in training is that the degree of success you can reasonably expect is directly proportional to the consistency and quality of the effort you invest in achieving it.

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So what should be my first goal. I got some fat that …is it wise to bulk now nd cut fat later?

I would say a great goal would be…

don’t miss a session for 3 months.

Your goal should be that simple. Pick a routine and follow it exactly.

is there any routine out there that focuses on dumbells more except for dead lift nd squats…any out there?

How about thinking for yourself? If this is your general attitude you’re going to have a tough time achieving anything.

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@MarkKO While I understand what you’re getting at, I believe he knows what his ultimate goal is.

Virtually everyone that asks whether they should bulk or cut wants the same thing, that is a lean, muscular body.

It’s not that he doesn’t know what he wants or doesn’t “think for himself,” it’s probably that he doesn’t know what path is best to follow in order to reach his goal.

If I ask, “hey i have some fat, should I bulk or cut?”, it’s not that I’m not sure if I secretly like that layer of fat or I don’t really know if I want bigger muscles; it’s likely that I’m looking for some direction as to what the first step should be in order to ultimately achieve both goals (hence fat loss AND hypertrophy).

Just my 2 cents here.

There isn’t a best path other than consistent effort. Too many beginners come in asking what is best and what they should aim to do first when what they need to do is stop asking and start working.

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@MarkKO stop killing there dreams! Consistency and effort is way too boring.

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I’m with Mark on this.

Make a decision for your god damn self and stop with the pointless mental masturbation. The answer to both questions is get in the gym, eat right and train hard. There’s only so much thought you can put into this before you have to put those inescapable truths into action.

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Agreed generally, I’m just saying that total noobs might be genuinely concerned as to whether they should cut or bulk first, and not necessarily asking that in order to skip hard work.

just do 5/3/1

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I don’t think that’s what the OP is asking about here, but okay :rofl:

it was a joke that you didn’t get, and you weren’t supposed to.

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Please stop being such a dick to me, you’re seriously hurting my feelings.

How dare you try to interject humor into a thread!!! Were talking about serious ground breaking stuff on here!! :wink:

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