if it's a pain that suddenly began while you were exercising, stop, consider getting it checked out.
what's your workout plan been so far, and what do you feel confused about?
Physical weakness is a temporary condition. 2nding Bob's rec of Starting Strength, I can send you the ebook if you'd like. Rippatoe's a masc dork with a lot of Coach Science (especially about diet 🐮), but his emphasis on learning good form before you even pick up the weights might give you some measure of confidence and safety.
emphasis on learning good form before you even pick up the weights
that sounds good, I'm gonna need that
What are you trying to do it the gym? Doesn't matter, we all start at the bottom and work up. ABCs : Always be doing 80% You want to go hard, but not so hard that recovering will keep you from working out more. That was the soviet method and I stand by it.
Starting strength. 3 days a week, half hour a day. Schedule is A, rest day, B, rest day, A. So every muscle group should have a day to rest between exercises but you are still working out consistently. A. Deadlift, Row, Curl B. Dip, squat, Over head press.
Do all of them for 3 sets of ten, because that is the easiest to remember.
Also do whatever cardio you enjoy just kinda whenever. You like to swim? Run? Box? Larp? Bike? Soccer? get it in. Consistency is more important that performance so just do what brings you joy here.Start with whatever feels light to you. I do mean light, this is to get comfortable and regulars. When you can do your range should be form 8 to 15 reps of any exercise. If you can't do eight go lighter. If you can do 15 add five pounds. Do that for like six months and then you should be able to know your body well enough to know what you wanna try doing. keep track of pain, if anything hurts more than 4/10 stop doing it. If things don't feel recovered by the next time go slower. You are not just strengthening your muscles, but your tendons, nerves, veins, and bones. It takes time to do it right.
First thing, you are NOT the problem. Please remember this. The problem is the workout you are doing.
Being weak and awkward is normal, you are just starting out, you just need a routine adapted to your needs and goals. Speaking about that, what do you want out of working out? Think about it seriously because that determines what you should do.
If all you want is be stronger, look healthy and not feel like you are dying anytime you have to do some manual labor, I would say a gym is mostly superfluous especially if you hate going there.
Bodyweight training works great for many things and you can practice anywhere. It will make you learn to control your body, reinforce your joints and allow you to learn some cool tricks like handstands or bridges (if that's your thing).
However doing BW training is not just about doing push ups, there are a number of exercises you will learn to master by doing easier variations until you can reach the hardest ones (like one legged squats and one handed handstand push ups). If you are interested, I have books for you.
Read Al Kavadlo's books, Zen Mind, Strong Body and Pushing The Limits mainly, if you have the time read Diamond Cut Abs from his brother Danny, him and his brother are masters of calisthenics and they have been coaches for years. I like their approach because it is more from the point of view of someone who wants to have a life outside of working out. The books are not long and full of images showing the exercices. A few things though: listen to Al's advice, respect the journey, even if an exercise seems too easy, do it seriously at least once to make sure you are ready for the next step; the beginning sucks and you will feel ridiculous doing the easiest exercises but they are needed to reinforce your joints and teach you the basics; we are all built different and making some minor adjustments to exercises because you are not comfortable is okay, as long as you do not compromise the general form of the movement (like keeping your ass up when doing push ups is bad, having your hands slightly closer or farther than shown in the pictures is okay); on food, as a vegan I obviously disagree with Al's point about eating meat, you don't need it, just buy chickpeas, lentils and beans in cans and add one to whatever you are cooking but that's for another discussion, his objections about plant milk are also ridiculous and show his lack of knowledge on nutrition (which he admits).
Zen Mind Strong Body: http://library.lol/main/1B5213C86F42E25E19A00F9543E5F746 Pushing the Limits: http://library.lol/main/7D28F6317FB300292E46DD2D6887BCDC Diamond Cut Abs (great book on how to train your midsection): http://library.lol/main/8FFA880F23F23D222FEDE7E111303E56
Another to read with those is Convict Conditioning, it needs a few warnings though: I would advise you to stick with the Kavadlo's philosophy unless you want to dedicate a lot more time to training. CC is about getting strong quick in a hostile environment. It is however a great bible of sorts with lots of explanation of basic concepts of how to train using only your body and has great descriptions of the different exercises. The coach's focus on very slow execution of each rep is not as important as he makes it out to be from what I have read elsewhere but it's still good to keep it in mind: don't cheat by using the movement of your previous rep, whatever the exercise. You can do this from time (like a sprint of sorts) but strive to keep the form and to do clean reps most of the time.
Convict Conditioning: http://library.lol/main/2E5273EE8AE2E8A63F491E18327EEFB5 There are videos of the exercises: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpAChiQOEnUSVp4Lnjdl0KH__LqiLKRtP
To be clear, these books are not workouts, they explain how to work out. They have example routines that you can follow but you should modify them depending on your goal and the way you feel. Same thing for progression, when you feel like an exercise is getting too easy, try the next one. Also those are books I use, coupled with a whole food vegan diet I have been achieving my goals. Hope this helps.
I agree completely. Gyms are great but by no means necessary.
In my unprofessional opinion, if you start with even just a few bodyweight exercises, it is a great way to get going. Doing sit-ups, plank, squats, lunges, and a few different types of push-ups is enough to start developing solid foundational strength.
I get that. When you search for information online remember that the fitness industry is completly fucked by terrible marketing. A vast majority of what you will find is pointless shit that won't do anything at best and hurt you at worst. Stay prudent and good luck with whatever you do :rat-salute:
I should just give up on being strong and just be skinny instead.
If you are an ectomorph-like body type, then you might consider getting into endurance-like sports. Running, cycling, XC skiing, triathlons, etc. Sure you won't build bulk, but you'll still have a lot strength, just in other ways. You'll still want a strength training regimen, such as squats, planks, bridges, calf raises. Yoga is great. Also you may be interested trying out a climbing gym?
Good luck!
Eat lots of protein. Protein snacks I'd recommend are the Quest chocolate chip and double chocolate chip cookies and quest peanut butter cup. Lots of protein snacks suck ass so just know every time you try something new there's a good chance it might suck, but that's okay, it's a change in diet.
If you're not trying to get really swole but just want to burn off fat, ring fit and hiking are really good options that don't require you go to the gym. I've lost over 20 pounds so far doing that and it's great. Don't worry, you won't get freakishly skinny accidentally.
I also am working my way up to 100 push ups/sit ups/squats a day 4-5 days a week. I'm currently at 70. It's a nice quick ten-fifteen minute addition to your exercise routine. Just do modified "girl" push ups, there's no shame in doing them especially when you're going for doing a lot of reps in a row.
Doing things that don't mesh with your goals at a rate your body and mind can't handle is the best way to burn out and never come back. That isn't your fault, the fitness industry pumps out a firehose of content that is nearly impossible to parse without having prior knowledge which is hard to acquire due to that whole firehose thing.
1.) What are your goals? If you don't know yet, then that's where your start point is.
2.) Does what you're doing right now actually match what you're trying to accomplish? 3.) There is no shame in training at a rate you can actually handle. An easier session you can finish with consistency will always beat a harder one that leaves you done for a week.I've got a number of years under my belt coaching people for various combat sports, and I'm happy to help get you pointed in the right direction if you'd like.
Elsewhere in the thread someone suggested Starting Strength as a starting point. That isn't a bad recommendation for your stated goal. If you're someone who learns by reading you can get the basics of the movements from the Starting Strength book. If you don't learn that way then you can check out youtube form guides. Alan Thrall's are pretty solid.
You can start out practicing the movements with a broom handle or something similar just to get used to your own body mechanics, and then move from there to a bare bar and only start adding weight when you get comfortable with the movements. There are also coaches out there willing to critique form by video, but I don't have a ton of experience with who is who in that regard as I haven't used those services myself. Remember also to give yourself adequate rest between sets, and between workouts. You also need to be consuming more calories that you're used to, especially protein. That's extra true if you're trying to gain muscle mass.
If you find yourself not being able to finish training sessions at the progression rate the book suggests it's fine to go slower. Without an actual coach a manual can only really be a guideline and it's better to not finish a session perfectly but be able to get the next one than it is to get hurt and stop entirely for weeks or months. I've certainly been in the "tried for too much and then was out for a long time" camp before, so please learn from my mistakes. Be careful, go at a reasonable pace, and pay attention to how your body is reacting and you'll be ok.
Final note: Starting strength isn't the be all end all routine, and if you stick to training and/or your goals change you'll eventually need to move on. Just don't get stuck on it dogmatically if you do start it.
Oh, and you can definitely find the book PDF floating around the internet for free. b-ok.cc has it.
I also worry a lot about messing up my form. Trying doing the exercise on a low weight so you can really practice the movements and get comfortable. That is what I did initially
i dont think being an idiot is much of an excuse, most people in the gym are dumbasses. you dont need to read any books like the dude below me is posting, watch most of Jeff Nippards videos and AthleanXs and VitruvianPhysique you'll build a foundation with form and diet and shit. just starting out means you shouldnt be pushing weights but mastering form on every workout. if you're squatting and its hurts you then you be squating with an empty bar until your form looks textbook definition and adding weights at all small rate. ask people to film your form, if you dont do this then you will continuously doubt yourself which is bad. make friends with the powerlifters as well. also you dont have to do compound excercises, you could just do machine workouts if you just want the vanity.
If you hurt doing anything it's probably because you've been so out of shape for so long that you really need to first re-learn functioning. So maybe do some basic cardio and mobility/flexibility exercises for some time before you get into strength training. Having a gym membership is good though imo, I get too distracted at home.
You probably also have to eat more if you are super skinny.
