Help Needed: Beginner At The Gym

ste7en

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Hi everyone,
I recently went to do my first gym workout with a few friends.
I am around 50-55 kg and skinny for as long as I can think of.
My main goals would be to gain muscle overall to look healthier/more normal and to improve my frame.
I have seen on bodybuilding forums that Rippetoe's Starting Strength and AllPro's Beginner Routine are two popular programs to follow for a novice.
However, they require free weights and I don't know if I should start with machines first, because they're easier to begin building muscle with and then I can transition to free weights later.

My questions are:
1. Start with free weights or machines? If the answer is machines, how long do you reckon I should continue this for?
2. Do you recommend Starting Strength/AllPro routine to build frame all around and build muscle?
3. Do I need to track macros/calories, or should I just aim to eat so I have a calorie surplus?

Thanks!
 

socalfreak

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Contrary to what many believe, free weights are better for newbies than machines.
Machines limit your positioning and movement. They also can allow you to cheat and not target the muscle your training .
Use free weights.
Get the feel of the balance & using all the secondary & tertiary supporting muscles in the movement. Strengthening those will also prevent injuries in the future.
It's harder to use free weights at times... But, it's really worth it!

As far as any programs, everybody responds to different training methods in a different way. What works for you may not work for a friend... And vise versa.
Best advice I can give you is to try one for a month, check your progress, and decide if you want to continue or go a different direction. It's not like you're locking yourself into a lifelong contract.... You can always change your mind.
Lastly, definitely write down what you eat and track the calories, etc.
In my experience, the biggest reason people fail to gain weight is that they overestimate how much they are eating.
Write everything down daily.
If you aren't gaining, increase your calorie goal per day.
Not tracking your progress is like trying to get somewhere new without a map.
I write down what I eat, what time I eat it, supplements I take, how I feel that day, how I slept the night before, and what my workout was.
You'll be able to look back and figure out what food combinations work best for you, etc.
Good luck!!
Be consistent!
It's hard work... But, totally worth it!
 

twoton

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I’m not familiar with All Pro, but do know SS. There’s a copy on my shelf, as a matter of fact.

Do free weights. You don’t need machines and you don’t need complicated rep schemes.

And eat a lot of food.
 

ste7en

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Hey again,
It's been about a year since I've gone to the gym because previously as I have now moved and been too caught up with life.
I'm looking to get a membership soon, and I've also got some protein shakes + bars ordered (hoping this will help in gaining mass).
Last year I did a mix of free weights and machines, and I haven't updated the workout since. My current routines are:
Day A: squat, chest press, bench press (dumbbell), pendlay row, face pull, standing calf raise, tricep pushdown
Day B: front squat, overhead press, romanian deadlift, lat pulldown, bicep curl, sit up.

However, I've been looking on Youtube and seen Push/Pull/Legs days.
Although it differs for people, are there any programs which have really work for people in the past? I'm a beginner and quite skinny, if that helps.
 

Bruh00000

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Hey again,
It's been about a year since I've gone to the gym because previously as I have now moved and been too caught up with life.
I'm looking to get a membership soon, and I've also got some protein shakes + bars ordered (hoping this will help in gaining mass).
Last year I did a mix of free weights and machines, and I haven't updated the workout since. My current routines are:
Day A: squat, chest press, bench press (dumbbell), pendlay row, face pull, standing calf raise, tricep pushdown
Day B: front squat, overhead press, romanian deadlift, lat pulldown, bicep curl, sit up.

However, I've been looking on Youtube and seen Push/Pull/Legs days.
Although it differs for people, are there any programs which have really work for people in the past? I'm a beginner and quite skinny, if that helps.
Need help here too. Ok me
 

51arledge

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@se7en Get back to the gym!

I was chronically skinny for most of my life, so I understand what you're up against.

There was very good advice above about logging both everything you eat and everything you lift.

I did Starting Strength for years. Excellent program. I'm glad to see you are doing squats AND front squats; as well as Romanian deadlifts. Consider also doing regular or sumo deadlifts. All 4 of these will boost your metabolic rate for more than 24 hours. Your biggest issue may be in getting enough calories; the rule of thumb I used was to eat protein in grams to equal my desired lean muscular mass in pounds. My goal was 190 pounds, so I have tried to eat 190 grams of protein per day. I think the result has proven the wisdom of this approach.
I typically eat 3500 calories per day. I lift 3 days/week and do yoga 2 days/week. My job also keeps me active 5 days a week.

For about 10 years now, my workouts have been exclusively on free weights. I do one workout that's all pushes and pulls in the HORIZONTAL plane (horizontal relative to the body as though it were vertical) this means DB bench press, DB or BB rows, DB or cable flyes, cable rows, etc.
Another day is all VERTICAL plane. So this includes overhead press, pull-ups, DB press, pull downs, etc. This one also includes all sorts of shoulder work like lateral raises, DB shrugs, front raises, reverse flyes, etc.
My leg day consists of front squats building to 3 sets at my max, then back squats to 3 sets of my max, calf raises, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, and weighted bridges (my gym has a great machine for this, and it's the only machine I use).
Any leftover time or energy goes to ab work. My only cardio is HITT usually on the Tabata protocol so I'm done in <10 minutes. If you lean, don't waste those precious calories on a long cardio session!

I do just enough cardio to keep my aerobic fitness.
 
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