Gaining Muscle and Losing Weight for Beginners

The initial step to going down this physical and mental struggle is making sure that the title’s goal is something that you really want. With this in mind know that you must be dedicated in following this Instructable strictly. You must also have a great deal of self-control in making sure you eat the proper foods necessary to produce the results you want. Another necessary skill is you must be willing to give 110% of your effort in the gym and make sure you are the hardest working individual. Lastly Have patience the Roman Empire was not built in a day and your results will not be either.

If you want to feel confident about yourself then this guide is for you. The guide is directed towards males but females can also follow this plan. When you go through the tough process of losing weight and putting on muscle you learn life lessons. One of these lessons include knowing that any progress is left on you to make, no one is going to lift those weights for you. It’s the lessons learned through the journey that will make you a better individual and make you feel more comfortable about yourself that makes this guide worth reading.

I recommend carrying the task out when you know you will be
able to take about 10 hours from your week for a new change in lifestyle. Most people have flexible time during the summer or months of May through August, so during this time frame would be a smart time to follow this guide.

SAFETY CONCERNS: Make sure you have a spotter when lifting free weights. A spotter is someone that makes sure you do not hurt yourself when you are lifting weights. A spotter also helps you when you are working out whether it is motivational or simply lifting the weights when your muscles get fatigued. Free weights are weights not attached to a machine or that do not have safety measures for that exercise. Some examples of free weights are bench, squat, or dumbbell triceps extension. Some of these exercises will be later discussed in developing a workout plan section and there are tutorials online on how to do these exercises correctly. Make sure you or someone else in your household knows how to cook food correctly. The last precaution is make sure you stretch and warm up before going into your workouts.

The first item needed is a gym membership at a local gym. The
second Item are necessary cooking equipment like pots and pans. Optional items can be gym equipment or agenda to write down your workouts and eating habits. If you follow this guide strictly then you will be able to visually see progress in 3-4 months as a beginner.

The first and most important step to accomplish is establishing your diet. Your diet should consist of lean proteins, Vegetables, and complex carbohydrates. Lean proteins consists of fish, red meats, and chicken. Preferred Vegetables to be consumed would be broccoli, mixed or mostly green Vegetables. Complex carbohydrates consist of oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes or beans. This step must be followed strictly day by day. You are allowed one cheat meal every week, because it would be overbearing to constantly eat healthy every single day. To stay sane one cheat meal could consist of hamburgers and fries for lunch. An example of a healthy meal on your plate would consist of 4/8 Broccoli, 2/8 Grilled chicken, and 2/8 brown rice.

Drink a lot of water. Stay away from all sugary drinks and move towards making your only beverage water. Your goal is to drink a gallon a day to make sure your body is properly hydrated. If possible purchase a gallon of water and track yourself by making sure the gallon of water is finished by the end of the day.

Develop a workout plan and since you are a beginner you do not have to worry about cutting or bulking workout plans. Cutting would imply that you wanted to lose weight while bulking meant you wanted to gain size, preferably muscle. As a beginner however it is easier for your body to cut fat and gain muscle. Logically the best way to quickly put on muscle is to do exercises that require more muscle groups working together. The more muscle groups working together the more strenuous it is on your body which makes the exercise rewarding. The top 4 exercises you should always incorporate in your workout plans is the barbell bench, squat, deadlift, and military press. These exercises should be placed in the beginning of your workouts and smaller muscle group exercises should be placed at the end, like bicep concentration curls.

There are multiple ways to set up your workout plan. 1 strategy is having a different muscle group focus every day during the weekdays. For example Monday-Legs, Tuesday-Chest, Wednesday-Arms (biceps/triceps), Thursday-shoulders/traps, and Friday-back. Another workout could be all muscle groups Monday, Tuesday rest day, Wednesday all muscle groups, Thursday rest day, and Friday all muscle groups. Make sure you stay consistent for some time with your workout plan before switching it up, as I said before change takes patience. I recommend using one of my basic workout plans as a basis and you can change it depending on your preference. Just make sure you are working out each body part at least once every week. I also recommend looking online for different types of exercises to do for each muscle group. A sample Monday workout from the first workout plan would be 4x10 squats, 3x10 lunges, 3x8 hip thrusts, 3x12 leg curls, and 3x10 leg raises to strengthen the core. A sample Monday workout from the second workout plan would be 5x5 squats, 5x5 bench, 3x10 lateral pull downs, 3x12 rope triceps pull down, and 3x12 alternating bicep curls.

I want to identify what for example 3x10 means. The first number indicates the number of sets to be performed on the exercise. The second number after the x indicates the number of repetitions (reps) to be performed on each set. Sets are how many times you will perform an exercise. The x combines the number of sets and reps making it visually easier to understand the workout plan for an exercise. For more detailed information just look on the internet for tutorials or explanations on lifting.

After you have properly planned out how the next couple of months will be, begin eating healthier and working out consistently. Launch as soon as you know you are fully prepared to succeed and have a main plan of action. During the process record your progress because this will help motivate you to keep going. Recording your progress allows you to see how much you have achieved and also how much further you need to keep going to attain your goal. I recommend recording the progress of your weight, the amount of weight you are able to lift, and how you look. Take photos on how you look to visually see your progress and how your body is reacting towards it. Record the amount of weight you are able to lift to see if you are getting stronger and that your muscles are developing. Record your weight to physically know that you are losing or gaining weight. Use all 3 of these techniques to track your total progress.

This step is a mental step and you should be constantly asking yourself, Can I Do More? It is important to challenge yourself because there would be no progress without it. In every workout you should be pushing yourself to do the most you can do. For example push yourself to do the most weight for the most amount of repetitions on an exercise. Do not run away from being uncomfortable. The most growth will come from being in the uncomfortable zone. Constantly push your limits at the gym and never settle.

Be happy with the body you have worked so hard to achieve, but never be satisfied. Meaning that you should always push yourself to do better and challenge yourself to accomplish even higher goals. Do not stop after 3-4 months of working hard to develop the body you desired. Do not allow these accomplishments to go to waste by eating junk food after your 3-4 months of strict eating. Lastly develop new fitness goals you want to achieve and pursue them!