I used to lift weights before but mainly for strength...Every country I stayed in and got my own place, one of the first things I bought was always a gym.
If the gym could handle 300 lbs, I would strenghten it to handle more.
I think my power to weight ratio is impressive. Im 180 lbs. Growing up I was skinny..but strong. I'd say on my best days, I could squat 500-600 lbs lbs...more if I trained harder...Bench press 350-400 lbs.
The first day I walked into the gym I squated 400 lbs...And I am average/skinny.I always played sports n ran alot from a very young age so my legs are strong and put wieghts in my backpack and tied sand bags to my legs n ran and jumped.
If I started training from start, it would take me 2-3 months to squat n bench that much and sometimes even sooner. Bad thing is I get too busy and stop working out...
Body type :
Are you skinny, average or fat?
Goals :
What are your goals?..to put on weight, gain muscle mass?
Workout :
Too many people spend too many hours in the gym and never get results.
The secret is training your body to exhaustion and recuperate fast.
If you are skinny and want to put on mass, spend less time in the gym.This equates to less energy lost therefore more chance of puttin on wieght.
You will need to do mass building exercises... the big compound exercises that affect alot of your muscles at once...like bench press, squat, chin ins, dips, bicep curls. no aerobic activity exept the 5-10 mins to warm up.
I think esp for a skinny person and if you want muscle fast, go hardcore.
Lift big weights with proper form and push yourself hard to the limit.
Because you are working alot harder, you will want to spend less time in the gym like 30-45 mins. Eat, sleep well and you will grow stronger n bigger.
If you are fat, then you would want to lose weight, so you want to spend more time in the gym, more time to burn more energy. You could do the compound exercises with more aerobic activity.
Diet :
I usually eat high protein diet...Works for me...To workout your protein needs you need to multiply your body weight by 2..That is the # of grams of protein you need daily. Eat foods high in protein so you ont have to eat in more quantities...
Sleep :
Very important because its during sleep that your body repairs and builds your mucles. Exercise is like a stress to your muscles. When you workout esp beyond your breaking point, your muscles break down. In sleep, they get repaired and built stronger because they experienced a load (stress) beyond their capabilites and will need to be bigger/stronger to handle that load.
Supplements : I have used creatine, protein shakes and weight gainer products. For me the best brands are from Muscletech..They sell Cell-Tech which is an advanced Creatine formula and their protein is Nitro-Tech.
I have also used EAS products. I am sure for first timers any good brands is okay.
Some manufacturers reccommend for the 1st 5 days to take creatine twice a day..in the morning and right after your workout. After the 5 days, take once/day after workout.
I take my Protein shakes 3-4 times/ day depending on my protein needs.
You can take less if you want to.
Intensity :
I think this is very important. If you do hardcore intense training, then you wont need to spend alot of time in the gym. Sometimes I superset my exercises...like I do 1 set of 7 reps bicep curls/no rest/ set of 7 reps tricep curls...another example...set of 7 reps of bench press/no rest/set of deadlift...That way you push yourself but be careful you will feel dizzy and some people faint from supersets.
Some guys spend hours and hours in the gym and gain no muscle or do not get stronger.They overtrain...I used to spend 30 mins-45 mins..at the most 60 mins and Im out. I lifted big weight with low reps...Low reps is to build mass and strength...Higher reps to build definition. The way I did my workout suited me..I could gain 10-15 lbs of muscle every month but I would have to keep my protein/ carb intake on track.
Every workout you perform, you have to increase the intensity by increasing the reps or the wieghts. I say inceasing the wieghts is better it makes you stronger. I used to increase my weights every workout. Lets say I squated 400 lbs last leg workout day on a Monday...If my next workout is on the Sunday coming I would do a warm up squat on 200 lbs/next 300 lbs/next 400 lbs/ next 450 lbs/ 500 lbs...My final set has to be heavy enough that I can barely do one or two reps. If you do it this way, your legs will be trembling from the pain....but damn you grow strong very fast. Your jumps do not need to be high. You do what you feel, but high enough so it triggers new growth.
Hope that helps...Feel free to ask any more questions.
Cheers,
Roy
