Newbie Gains.. Too Much?

Hey guys,this is my first post so bare with my if I sounds like a fool. Ok so after looking around the forums for a few weeks i decided to start a much needed bulking phase.
Here are some stats

Age:19
Sex: male
Height: about 1.76m, i’m an Aussie but i think that equates to around 5ft8.
Initial weight: 61kg (134.2 pounds
I increased my food intake like 3 fold but i dont have a set eating plan. I try to get about 6 meals a day of good clean food tho.

Supplements:
BSC NitroVol protein
No-explode

Currently at a gym, my program is as follows.

Day 1: back
2x Reverse chins till fail
3x lat pulldown
3x dumbbell rows
3x dumbbell curl

Day 2: Legs
3x smith machine squats
3x Leg press
2x Matrix leg press
3x calf raises

Day 3: chest
3x benchpress
3x dumbbell press
3x dumbbell fly
3x cable pulldown

one day off then repeat.

I’ll fix up the errors tomorrow and try to get some pic’s up.

It’s only been 12 days since started recording my weight and i’m all ready up to 65.8kg (144.76 pounds) thats a gain of 10.56 pounds in less than two weeks. As far as i can tell its not fat either.
Is this too rapid? I’m stoked with it but i know jackshit so any comments will be helpfull.

cheers

How much water are you drinking?

I tend to drink alot of water. Its hard to tell but maybe 3-4 litres a day.

You started eating youll get an initial surge just heck a lot from food in your digestive system and added hydration it will slow keep it up and gauge the progress in another two weeks.

what the sam hell is a reverse chin the opposite/reverse to a chin to me would be a press over head LOL

also drop the load and get out of the smith machine and do real squats

Phill

[quote]Phill wrote:
You started eating youll get an initial surge just heck a lot from food in your digestive system and added hydration it will slow keep it up and gauge the progress in another two weeks.

what the sam hell is a reverse chin the opposite/reverse to a chin to me would be a press over head LOL

also drop the load and get out of the smith machine and do real squats

Phill[/quote]

I think he means a close-grip pullup. In other words chins with a pronated grip.

I could be wrong.

thanks for the help Phill. The reverse chins i guess are just a fancy name for regular pullups. Ill probably stay with the smith machine for a month or so because i’ve have very little experience with squatting before.

ill post again in two weeks.

Step one. Develop an eating plan. Start with a food log. Keep track of everything you eat. When your gains slow or stop, you will find this is worth a hundred bucks, because you can adjust your diet from what you have been doing.

Step two. Go out in the back yard if you have one, or to an empty field if you don’t. Take a shovel and dig a hole approximately 1 meter deep and 1/2 meter wide. Toss your container of NO Explode into the hole. Replace the dirt taken out of the hole.

Step three. GET OUT OF THE SMITH MACHINE!!! The best way to get experience with squats is to actually do squats. There are balance and weight control issues with squats that doing them in the Smith Machine will not resolve. It is better to do real squats with the bar or light weight. Once you feel comfortable, moving up in weight is easy.

Good Luck.

[quote]Figzy wrote:
thanks for the help Phill. The reverse chins i guess are just a fancy name for regular pullups. Ill probably stay with the smith machine for a month or so because i’ve have very little experience with squatting before.

ill post again in two weeks.[/quote]

Better get over it now, just do squats, work your way up with low weights if need be, I was squatting 85lbs about two years ago, I will squat 400 by the end of the year. The longer you wait the more you are holding yourself back.

[quote]Kalle wrote:
Figzy wrote:
thanks for the help Phill. The reverse chins i guess are just a fancy name for regular pullups. Ill probably stay with the smith machine for a month or so because i’ve have very little experience with squatting before.

ill post again in two weeks.

Better get over it now, just do squats, work your way up with low weights if need be, I was squatting 85lbs about two years ago, I will squat 400 by the end of the year. The longer you wait the more you are holding yourself back.[/quote]

exactly whats it going to help to wait longer

Phill

[quote]Arms Afire wrote:

Step two. Go out in the back yard if you have one, or to an empty field if you don’t. Take a shovel and dig a hole approximately 1 meter deep and 1/2 meter wide. Toss your container of NO Explode into the hole. Replace the dirt taken out of the hole.

Good Luck.[/quote]

Thank you. No-explode is absolute garbage, and you should only take creatine if your natural levels of creatine are low, or else it doesn’t do much.

Next, you should stay away from all machines all together, especially the smith, it is essentially making you weaker since your stabilizer muscles aren’t doing anything.

Next, I guess your routine is good to start off with; however, you do not need to take a break after 3 days in a row if you do not want to.

Also, you should be changing up your routine every week as far as exercises go for specific muscles, what you pair on each day, sets and reps, high and low weight, super and tri-sets, etc. You have to keep your body guessing by constantly throwing it curve balls, thats how you will see the most improvements

I see no work for your posterior chain, core, or shoulders. You should consider one of the routines available here (full body or upper/lower split perhaps?). Designing your own workouts is a bad idea until you have experience, then your intuition will take over.

BTW, dump the nitric oxide crap and get creatine and fish oil.

It turns out the scales that i used the other day were out so instead of gaining 10.56pounds i had gained 8.8pounds. Ill change to title seeing as tho its not as unusual.

[quote]Arms Afire wrote:
Step one. Develop an eating plan. Start with a food log. Keep track of everything you eat. When your gains slow or stop, you will find this is worth a hundred bucks, because you can adjust your diet from what you have been doing.

Step two. Go out in the back yard if you have one, or to an empty field if you don’t. Take a shovel and dig a hole approximately 1 meter deep and 1/2 meter wide. Toss your container of NO Explode into the hole. Replace the dirt taken out of the hole.

Step three. GET OUT OF THE SMITH MACHINE!!! The best way to get experience with squats is to actually do squats. There are balance and weight control issues with squats that doing them in the Smith Machine will not resolve. It is better to do real squats with the bar or light weight. Once you feel comfortable, moving up in weight is easy.

Good Luck.[/quote]

Firstly thanks for the input. With reguards to step one ill definatley be setting that up, i’m doing sports nutrition this semester at uni so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Now the NO-explode i know its not very good, i had all ready considered dumping it but it is hard to basically throw away $100. I definatly won’t buy it again thats for sure.

I’ll try the free weight squat i am only hesitant because i don’t have a gym partner atm and my technique and leg muscles are pretty bad.

[quote]Jacked Diesel wrote:

Next, I guess your routine is good to start off with; however, you do not need to take a break after 3 days in a row if you do not want to.

Also, you should be changing up your routine every week as far as exercises go for specific muscles, what you pair on each day, sets and reps, high and low weight, super and tri-sets, etc. You have to keep your body guessing by constantly throwing it curve balls, thats how you will see the most improvements[/quote]

I would like to train on that day off but i’m not sure if it would be overdoing it. Say if i’m still slightly sore in my shoulders from my last session is it safe to hit the gym again for another back/shoulder workout?

I try to mix it up as much as possible but then again it’s still early days so my body wouldn’t be used to anything yet. Good advice for the future tho.
cheers

[quote]Kruiser wrote:
I see no work for your posterior chain, core, or shoulders. You should consider one of the routines available here (full body or upper/lower split perhaps?). Designing your own workouts is a bad idea until you have experience, then your intuition will take over.

BTW, dump the nitric oxide crap and get creatine and fish oil. [/quote]

I had my program designed by staff at the gym but i think he made it too basic so ill approach him and get it updated to include those areas.

Don’t sweat if your squat technique is sub-par; the only way to get better at squatting is to do more squats.

And watch this video http://video.google.com/...481301858251744 on proper technique. Make sure to squat with just the bar to get proper technique, then move the weight up as you get better. It requires some patience but it’s well worth it.

Don’t have a partner? That’s what power racks are for.

…or do front squats. Much easier to ditch the bar if you have to.

[quote]Jacked Diesel wrote:
Arms Afire wrote:

Step two. Go out in the back yard if you have one, or to an empty field if you don’t. Take a shovel and dig a hole approximately 1 meter deep and 1/2 meter wide. Toss your container of NO Explode into the hole. Replace the dirt taken out of the hole.

Good Luck.

Thank you. No-explode is absolute garbage, and you should only take creatine if your natural levels of creatine are low, or else it doesn’t do much.

Next, you should stay away from all machines all together, especially the smith, it is essentially making you weaker since your stabilizer muscles aren’t doing anything.

Next, I guess your routine is good to start off with; however, you do not need to take a break after 3 days in a row if you do not want to.

Also, you should be changing up your routine every week as far as exercises go for specific muscles, what you pair on each day, sets and reps, high and low weight, super and tri-sets, etc. You have to keep your body guessing by constantly throwing it curve balls, thats how you will see the most improvements[/quote]

Good advice for an intermediate lifter, but as a beginner, I’m not sure he needs to switch his program every week. There would actually be more benefit to learning the lifts and practicing them for several weeks in a row. He could probably go 6-8 weeks before needing a change. As he gets more advanced, I would say change it every 3-4 weeks.

I agree that he should focus primarily on free weights, but honestly, machines aren’t evil. They are a tool, just like everything else. They have their place in a program, but should not make up the majority of the lifts.

To the OP,

With that said, I agree with getting out of the Smith Machine. Learn to squat with just a bar on your back, and focus on technique. Nothing says you have to go to failure, or even close, at this point. Just learn how to do the lift. There is nothing to be gained by getting good at Smith Machine squats.

You can add them back in later for specialty work, but for now focus on the basics. Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges, Bench Press, Pullups, Rows, Shoulder Press, Dips, etc.