Help!

[Boforus]

Hi guys, I've been sticking to a diet plan and visiting the gym 3 times a week for a couple months or so now, I have seen gains and have achieved a lot already with regards to my strength and ability to perform more push-ups/ pull ups etc I have improved my strong lifts exercises too, I'm going for 100kg dead lift tomorrow! My only issue is that I don't have a proper workout plan short of my strong lifts exercises I have just been making it up as I go along, I'm sure I'll see even more gains if I have a properly formed plan. I visited bodybuilding.com moments ago and I can't stand the way a lot of the "coaches" look at exercising and nutrition, working out 6 days a week and eating 7-8 times a day, wtf!? This method may get results,I don't know but it's not for me I'm afraid. Some of the exercises on bodybuilding.com look good, and effective but which should I begin with? I'm not looking to become a man mountain, just bigger in the good bits (arms/chest) and smaller in the bad (stomach/love handles) so, what to do? Where can I make a program that will work, without having to pay for the honour of a "coach" telling me?

 

Thanks guys!

[Evicious]

Hey Boforus! Good job sticking to your diet and gym plan! It sounds like you're very happy with the progress you've been making, and are starting to feel ready for more. First question: when you say "strong lifts exercises" are you referring to the Stronglifts program? If so, are you asking for help in adding more weight or different exercises to the pre-established workouts; or are you bored with the 5x5 program and looking for a different one altogether?

 

It sounds to me that you are looking for a ready-made workout to start off with, and that's a great way to expand your gym routine and keep pushing your new fitness boundaries (that's what it's all about, after all!). One thing that a lot of beginners struggle with though is learning that they can modify a workout program and still see success in it. So those bodybuilding.com programs could totally be your new routines: if you like what you see as far as the exercises listed, and it's just the 6-days-a-week schedule that's putting you off, there's no real reason you can't just cut the program in half so it fits your 3-times-a-week routine. You will have to recognize that you're not likely to see as large of an increase in your strength gains as you would by doing the original workout as-is, but that doesn't mean you won't see any either (especially if there are a lot of new exercises you haven't tried yet). Virtually any pre-made workout can be tailored to your level of fitness and preferred/necessary schedule, so don't be shy about trying out the ones you feel will get you to your fitness goals.

 

(You might also be interested in checking out these NF workouts instead; there are several more that have yet to be added to that list; use the Search feature on nerdfitness.com and type in "workout plan" to see some of the newer ones.)

 

If you're more interested in creating a workout program by yourself entirely, Steve wrote this article specifically to address all the accompanying questions and confusion everyone goes through when they start out.

Now, you mention that your focus is to be "bigger in the good bits (arms/chest) and smaller in the bad (stomach/love handles)". What that translates to tends to be "I want to gain muscle (in a particular area) and at the same time I want to lose weight (which almost always ends up being the middle portion of everyone's bodies)". It's important that you recognize that you're saying this because losing weight and gaining size in your muscles at the same time is a tricky business: it's easy enough to accomplish in the beginning, because your body and metabolism haven't adjusted to the workout load quite yet, but as you go further along it becomes more difficult to challenge yourself and maintain gains/losses. You're still in the beginning stages it would seem, which is great - keep going! But you need to be aware that somewhere along the line you're probably going to have to pick what you want your workouts to focus on.

 

Top tip: If you pick "strength", you'll continue to lose unwanted weight anyway, it will just come off more slowly than in the beginning. It's almost a slogan here on NF, that weight loss is the inevitable result of muscle gains. The key is always diet. You may have to increase your caloric intake a bit in order to keep your muscles growing and getting stronger, but if you're eating cleanly it does not result in any extra adipose.

 

Oh, and second-to-top tip: The muscles in your legs and buttocks are some of the largest in your body, and hence burn more calories than those in your upper body. Additionally, a strong lower body saves you from a lot of upper-body injuries (most notably back-related ones). You've heard it before, I'm sure, and I only say this because you did not mention anything about it in your post:

 

FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS SKIP LEG DAY!

[Oramac]

Yea, what Evicious said.  Seriously, she knocked it out of the park there.  Definitely peruse the articles on NF.  There's tons of great workouts you can do, and lots of tips for making your own.  Also, from a relative beginner myself (been lifting for only about a year now), as she said, you'll see a ton of gains in the beginning, and once the body gets more used to the exertion, the gains will slow down.  This is the point you need to remember that slow gains are still gains.  

 

Have fun, and possibly look at doing a 6-Week Challenge too!