Image Credit: irene nobrega – This lil’ guy’s still a newbie

This is a detailed personal experience on how I went from newbie to intermediate trainee and sort of an expansion to my coaching article. While this piece and the coaching article are similar, I feel it’s necessary to touch on the endless wheel spinning cycle many experience. I find that as I work with more newbies alike, they all seem to be going through the same stuff I went through. I hope to provide some hope and guidance with this one.

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In the last 8-9 years or so I have learned a lot. I have done a ton of stupid crap regarding training and dieting. While a few of these mistakes have set me back in achievement and anatomical health, experience(both good and bad) seems to be the greatest teacher.

The Beginning

I will never forget taking the bus after 6^th period to the field house to train with the “old guys.” It was scary and exciting at the same time. Being a scrawny 7^th grader, I was intimidated but also very interested in strength training and athletic development.  You can only imagine the thoughts going through our little brains. “Will I get shoved in the locker today?” “Will I have to do the stinky laundry?” “Will I make it home alive?”

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I know it sounds silly but these were common thoughts of a middle school football player once the final hour rolled around each day.

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The first day I walked into the weight room, guys who seemed to tower over me at the time clouded my vision. In my psyche, they resembled the likes of Arnold, Serge Nubret, Franco Columbo etc. Now they were not really as big as my idols at the time but in my mind this is who they resembled to me. I immediately became obsessed with training and sculpting my physique as the other guys had. I figured if I could get as strong as them I would look like them one day.

Strength and Progression

As time went on, I became a regular in the weight room. While most guys stayed inside during the summer months to play video games, I was training regularly in the school gym under the coaches’ supervision.

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I trained from that point on all the way into varsity athletics. During my junior and senior year I held one of the top three spots for the strongest squat. It’s hard to remember but I think the most I ever did for one rep was 425lbs or 455lbs. There were some fat linemen ahead of me but they outweighed me by 60-70lbs, so I didn’t care so much. During this time I weighed about 185lbs and my body fat was probably around 16-17%. So while I wasn’t very lean by my current standards, I was still very athletic and strong for my age.

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I attribute my success to having no damn choice but to follow what my coaches prescribed. His orders were to train only at the field house and to eat 2-3 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before bed time.

Somewhere Between Suck and Stupidity

My first year of college was a glorious one. Not because of the partying or drunken madness because I never partook in that stuff at all. I never even had a beer my first year in college. This is where I developed an obsessed bodybuilding type of mentality. I ate on the hour, trained religiously and did a bunch of silly ritual stuff that revealed my inner lunacy.

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The reason it was glorious is because it was the first time I ever successfully dieted down to reveal a full row of abs. Long story short: I entered into a best body contest with about 15 guys, then worked my tail off for 16 weeks dieting and training. I dropped about 20lbs, had a nice set of abs, a good tan and took 2^nd place. I also won $300 too. This was my first and last bodybuilding competition.

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I should also mention this spiraled downward into many months of too much cardio and bro-like weight training. Since I was now a bodybuilder I figured I must start training like one. I picked up your typical bro training split that resulted in no gains whatsoever. I was miserable, irritable and trashed all the time from way too much activity. Summer couldn’t have come at a better time; I moved back home and found a mentor.

Salvation From Myself

Initially during the summer months I was still on the retarded training routines, under eating in fear of losing my abs and generally feeling crappy all the time. I began scouring the pages of bodybuilding.com in search of a magic pill. I found lots of them. How did I know where to turn and who to follow? This was like finding a needle in a haystack. I needed results and I needed them now.

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I must say that I got extremely lucky when I stumbled across Lawrence’s profile. I contacted him a few days later and then handed my training and diet over to him completely. In 16 weeks I was about 10lbs heavier and leaner than I had ever been at a weight of 190lbs. This only happened because I decided to trust someone else with my training and diet.

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Fast forward a few years, I injure my shoulder and develop really tight hips. However I am fixing both of those and doing absolutely wonderful.

My Current State

Today I am currently building up to previous squat and pressing records, eating well and enjoying life. According to Lyle McDonald, with the proper training and diet, one can dance around their genetic muscular potential in about 5 years or so. Granted I remain injury free, I hope to reach mine in the next few.

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Attention All Newbies

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Every newbie needs to read Lyle’s article. If you look at the numbers, someone new to training can reasonably gain 30-37lbs of muscle in their first 2 years of proper training and eating. Can you imagine that? I mean seriously, take any skinny guy weighing a 150lbs soaking wet, slap 30lbs of lean body mass on him and you get a significant transformation. That is only with 2 years of training! The time frame is relatively short compared to the span of your life.

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Many newbs I know of have been in the gym for 2-3 years or longer with no appreciable gains in lean body mass. What are they missing? They are usually missing the proper guidance and severely lacking in the calorie department.

Mini Guide To Stop The Wheel Spinning

• Pick A Solid Training Program – Full body is probably best to get you started but you wont be there for long. As you get stronger you will most likely need to spread out the volume/intensity in a conjugated manner or just switch to an upper/lower split.

• Eat Well – Of course you have to eat over maintenance if you want to grow. A pure newbie can get away with gaining slightly more than 1lb per month. According to Lyle’s article one can gain 2lbs of muscle per month, so at a pound per week, that is 4lbs per month. The weight gain might be slightly higher than this from week to week depending on the amount of food consumed, water fluctuations etc.

• Monitor Progress – This is a must. You should keep a log and ideally will have someone with more experience following along to help you avoid mistakes. This is very important and will serve you to have an objective view of your progression.

• Have Fun – This is an endurance event, not a sprint. The most beefy and beautiful physiques were built upon months and years of doing it right. You should be having fun during this journey because it’s just that: a journey. It’s going to take time and you have to be willing to be in it for the long haul. It shouldn’t take up all of your time either. I say 3-4 hours per week is plenty.  Get in and get out.   A friend of mine, Ryan Zielonka, just published an awesome article called The 80/20 Physique. You can use this principle to get the most of your efforts in the gym.

To those out there who are struggling as I once did, I hope this serves as a kick in the rear and gives you hope for a bright muscle building future. If you ever have any questions, need help or advice, feel free to email me or ask a question.

Tagged as: Newbies