I just started a new workout and decided to research a little first… I just wish I’d seen your site before today.

Diet, progression, and overload… Thank you very much for this article and the other articles on this site. I appreciate the education and I look forward to making some adjustments to my plan.

Buck

Ideally, you want to increase weight every workout. Most beginners can do this, especially with the “big” compound lifts like squats or deadlifts. But of course there comes a time when this is impossible.

What you want is information on periodization. And that’s a subject that can (and does) fill entire books, and it’s why strength coaches go to grad school before they’re fully qualified.

2) Dumbells are fine, their just a HUGE pain in the ass.

3) Although workouts partners are great, I often end up going to the gym alone. Playing it ‘safe’ and pushign a weight you know you can handle wont get you anywhere – you have to push yourself. If the gym is packed, then thats alot of potential temporary spotters for you. Sometimes I’ll go and have 3 different guys spot my bench sets – you just ask whoever walks by.

Always keep your form and technique up. Its not the weight you lift, its how you lift the weight.

Just a little update. I went and found out about Rippetoe’s program, Starting Strength, and I’m going to start on it.

Have 4 questions though,

1) Weight gainers would still work, right?
2) Can dumbbells be substituted for the exercises? My public gym is packed even if I go right when it opens, and there’s only one bench press machine and I can’t remember if there is a squat machine.
3) I workout alone, so no spotters, would it be okay to go lighter in case I injure myself?
4) Since there is no spotter, would a bad technique or form hinder my progress?

Cheers mate, your site is a really great help!

Thanks for the advice. I have another question, if I don’t feel sore after a workout the next day, does it mean I’m not lifting heavy enough? I attempted increased my weights by a level or two yesterday and I dont feel anything today. I even had to push a little to get the dumbbells to chest level for a bench press, so I don’t know if I want to attempt a heavier weight the next session as I’m not sure I can support the weights and cause injury to myself.

Thanks again for the help!

Weight gainers work, but they’re expensive. I wrote an article about them a while back: weight gainers and I included some recipes for making your own weight-gain shakes. Check it out sometime.

Yes, adding sets and/or reps counts as progression. Check out some of the periodization schemes on the ‘web for ideas on how to add progression to your workouts. I haven’t gotten around to writing an article about periodization because it’s kind of a daunting task that might be a bit above my level of knowledge. Basically, I’d just be rewriting what others have already said in ways I couldn’t hope to improve upon.

For anyone who really wants to understand the nuts and bolts about how to design a good exercise program from the ground up, I recommend Rippetoe and Kilgore’s book Practical Programming for Strength Training. It’ll serve you well for the rest of your life.

Good luck!

I’m a scrawny skinny guy and just came upon your site and learned a whole lot of things. Will take the advice as much as possible, sometimes it just isn’t that easy to get the required food for the day. Will weight gainers (supplement) help fulfill that calorie requirement?

Also, for progression principle, does increasing reps or sets count? Or must it be an increase in weight?

Cheers, and keep up the good work on the site, it helps many people who want to get bigger but have no clue get bigger.

I like how all the articles are scientifically substantiated and do not rely on simple statements like – ‘eat more’ or ‘train harder’ but are detail explanations of causes and affects.