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Thread: Beginner Weight Advice (Underweight)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
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    4

    Default Beginner Weight Advice (Underweight)

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    Hey there,
    It's my first time posting here, I have only recently started to take interest in testing what my body capable of. Since I don't really know where to specifically post this question I will try in the programming forum and post my form questions in the other sub-forum. I have always been a very skinny guy and was only 133lbs at 6'1" with very little body fat about a month ago. I am currently 138lbs and going up. I started going to the gym about a month ago and for the first three weeks I did bro-splits as most people start out with. Then I started reading up about what would be the actual better option for a beginner and ended up at Starting Strength. I am sure I have made a lot of mistakes in the past 2 weeks I have been doing this programme and have amassed a few questions:

    I probably started out with weights that were too heavy (I noticed as I was constantly filming myself that my form was off a lot and that I should probably back down on the weight):

    Squat Week 1

    M. 88x5x3
    W. 99x5x3
    F. 110x5x3

    Squat Week 2

    M. 121x5x3
    W. 132x5x3
    F. 143x5x1 143x3x1 (Fail) 138x5x2

    Deadlift Week 1

    M. 111x5x1
    W. 122x5x1
    F. 133x5x1

    Deadlift Week 2

    M. 144x5x1
    W. 155x5x1
    F. 166x5x1

    Bench Week 1

    M. 89x5x3
    F. 95x5x3

    Bench Week 2

    W. 100x5x3
    S. 104x3x1 (Fail), 95x5x2

    I noticed that I am fairly weak compared to other people that have not trained. For example my roommate (Though not doing starting strength and having no prior lifting experience) who is 200lbs and has quite a bit of fat mass can squat 225lbs for 6 reps, bench 135 for 5 reps and deadlift 235 for 5 reps out of the blue. Is this mainly related to my weight or is it something else?

    How much weight should I have started with?

    Is it normal to stall so quickly with bench press and squat?

    I'm getting enough sleep and I'm eating at about a 500Kcal surplus that I have checked thoroughly to be correct and am gaining weight steadily. I am getting enough protein in >140g each day and the other macros are all in order also.

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    St. Louis, MO
    Posts
    319

    Default

    The best thing you can do is hire a coach. The next best thing you can do is buy and read and absorb the book - most of your questions are answered there.

    If you filmed yourself, post the video of the fail set of squats to the technique board.

    You will need a greater caloric surplus. Your intuition about the role weight plays with strength is correct

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
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    4

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    St. Louis, MO
    Posts
    319

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    Yup. You need coaching and a greater caloric surplus. Don’t panic, this will clear up and you’re going to get better.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    MS
    Posts
    440

    Default

    Maybe a few glasses of egg nog will speed your progress.

    Eggnog vs Milk

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    RS WY
    Posts
    980

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    What is your age? You look fairly young still, good for you for getting started and whatever you do don't give up you will be rewarded and change your life!

    When I graduated from college in 2000 I was your height and weight. I have always been extremely weak compared to other people I wish I could tell you I now have some huge lifting numbers but not yet I'm still working on those. The difference between you and your roommate is definitely due to weight right now you have extremely poor leverages between your muscles and bones due to the small size of your muscles. The only way to fix this is to EAT!

    Two priorities for you right now:

    1) EAT!!! - 500 cal surplus is not going to cut it. Ground beef, potatoes and milk until you are ready to throw up three times a day. A gallon of milk a day for at least a couple months. Once you put on at least 50 pounds your leverages will start to improve. And yes there will be some fat that goes along with that, but fat is easy to lose and muscle is hard to gain. If you want to get stronger you will need to deal with some body fat at this point in your life. IF YOU DON'T EAT YOU WILL NOT BE SUCCESSFUL! Check out this calculator to see how much weight and muscle you are capable of gaining The WeighTrainer - Maximum Muscular Bodyweight and Measurements Calculator

    2) Form - it is imperative that you concern yourself with getting the correct form right now more so than adding weight to the bar. I started with the bar and remember the first time I squatted 95 I thought I was going to die and my form was horrible! It took me two years before I got face to face coaching and it has made a world of difference. I wasted a lot of time training without coaching. If you cannot get a face to face coach try as hard as you can to pay for the online coaching for three months it will be more that worth it. Starting Strength Online Coaching

    Congratulations on getting into the iron game, stick with it I promise you will be satisfied with the results and before you know it you'll be looking to sign up for your first powerlifting meet!

    PS check out this article to get a taste of how much strength you can actually gain:
    YOUR Drug-Free Muscle and Strength Potential: Part 2 • Stronger by Science

    Finally don't get sucked into any bullshit programming stick with the basics squat press bench and deadlift for sets of five it will work for you if you put in the time, effort, and food...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Posts
    357

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    On a more general note: A better way imo than putting out arbitrary surplus or goal weight/gaining numbers as it is done so frequently is to actually react to your body´s development.

    That means: wiigelec has posted great ressources that describe maximal, and usual (for the elite) ranges in hypertrophy potential. Now, as Greg Nuckols also pointed out in another article in the series linked above, its preferable to be too optimistic rather than too pessimistic. However, with your goals becoming too unrealistic or being timed badly, you get into unnecessary trouble. Either by under- or overshooting. Instead, measure roughly how your body responds to your training and eating by weighing yourself, measuring your waist (or doing the Navy body fat calculations), noting strength gains and taking pictures. And act accordingly.

    For example: One person gains 2kg/month, his strength goes up very modestly - but all he sees is more fluff around the belly - and all measurements confirm this assessment. Another one gains the same, but his strength numbers fly up, his belly gets slimmer even and his thigh circumference much larger. Whatever the reasons (which is your task to find out), the conclusion almost never is for the former to "eat more" and for the latter to "eat less" (arguing he doesnt need such weight gain to achieve good strength gains). Depending on the reasons for the different developments one can even say the conclusion may be quite the opposite.

    Of course, different actions for different people: Someone who wants to (non-competitively) be a strong powerlifter as fast as possible will skew the body fat ranges that dictate gaining and cutting (ROUGHLY, on average <14 for gaining, >20 for cutting) higher up. A competitive endurance athlete or a non strength sport athlete who is bound by weight classes or relative strength will set them differently. With strength goals in mind somewhat differently than the bodybuilder. Beginners with more freedom than advanced.

    This is a good introduction and guide to the topic: How to Adjust Your Diet to Successfully Bulk Without Getting Fat

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,123

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Here's another resource from someone who is familiar with the novice linear progression: To Be A Beast

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