Training Program for building lean muscle

Hey guys

I'm a newbie to the whole muscle building scene and would like to find out what training program would be the best to use the build lean muscle and get ripped. I currently only have a training program from virgin active and I've not done anything major as well.

Any advice and help would be realy appreciated

I currently gym at virgin active vanderbijlpark so if anyone gyms there as well that can show me the ropes and what exercises to do that would be even better

Thanks Again

spartan wrote: Hey guys

I'm a newbie to the whole muscle building scene and would like to find out what training program would be the best to use the build lean muscle and get ripped. I currently only have a training program from virgin active and I've not done anything major as well.

Any advice and help would be realy appreciated

I currently gym at virgin active vanderbijlpark so if anyone gyms there as well that can show me the ropes and what exercises to do that would be even better

Thanks Again

Welcome bud, do some digging on training programs here and im sure you will come right. there is no one size fits all answer.

Just use the one VA gave you in the mean time, but it is good to change/tweak your program every 8 weeks or so anyway.
So you can expect to be reading, searching, updating programs 24/7/365, it is never set in stone.

The one thing that the WWW is not short of is programs. Google, try a few and see what works for you. Buy some BB mags and read up on form/technique etc.

ENJOY!!!! If the BB bug bites you there is no turning back!!

Which one did VA give me?

spartan wrote: Hey guys

I'm a newbie to the whole muscle building scene and would like to find out what training program would be the best to use the build lean muscle and get ripped. I currently only have a training program from virgin active and I've not done anything major as well.

Any advice and help would be realy appreciated

I currently gym at virgin active vanderbijlpark so if anyone gyms there as well that can show me the ropes and what exercises to do that would be even better

Thanks Again

:huh:

spartan wrote: Which one did VA give me?

VA = Virgin Active

"lean muscle and getting rip" is achieved by correct diet

Hey hey... welcome to the forum...
Do you go to the vanderbijl Virgin Active in the evenings?
I was there last night and there were queues for the benches!!!

The problem is that the Vereeniging Virgin Active is doing upgrades so I think a lot of people are going to the Vanderbijl one now...

Hi,

Yes I do. I normally go after 7 because thats when I get home from work

Hey bud maybe I can help. What people are saying is that there is no training program that works for everyone and that is true. However the foundation of every great training program is the same- you must train every muscle to complete failure exactly once in every 7 day cycle, and calves and abs you can do twice. DO NOT train your muscles more or you will run the risk of overtraining. Once you have this in mind you can chop and change what works for you and what doesn't. Something that seems to be important is doing the three major complex exercises and they are Squats, Bench Press and Deadlifts. If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them bud.

4-5 days a week, every bodypart once a week ex:

Chest
Back
Legs
Shoulders
Arms
Rest
Rest
*REPEAT*

Thats a good place to start and since your just starting out I suggest you dont get too technical about this.

1. Train hard!
2. Always keep good form while training.
3. Cheating is needed to break plateaus.
4. Sort your diet - this will be about 80% of what you achieve. (I suggest you start a thread and we can work from there)

Awe man, goodluck!

Thanks for all the info and advice guys.

Pyroclasm, I will try your idea's. I only have one problem. for some reason I cannot do squats. It the moment I'm doing normal squats without waits and I struggle to complete one set. By rep number 5 my knee's actually start to physically pain and I struggle to push myself back up. Any advice on what I can do the help with this problem or if there is anything I should take to help with my knee's?

spartan have you tried hack squats on the hack squat machine?

To be honest I have no idea what that is. I'm only use to the circut and thats about it when it comes to weights training. that why i'm asking for help and perhaps a gym partner just to show me how and what to do

it would be around the leg press machine area i hope, just ask a staff member to show you, and try very light with the hack squat and see if you can do that, that should assist you a bit to start squating

Thanks will try that

And BTW, when you train those legs (and any other part for that matter) WARM UP!!

On leg day I do like 5-10 mins cycle. Then I do Leg Extensions / Leg Curls. After this you have sent enough blood and nutrients to the muscles and joints and should be ready to tackle squats.

I find that a warm up set before every set is awesome, preps the muscle for the onslaught!!

yip, cycle for about 5min on so before, get the blood flowing first before you just get on with it

spartan wrote: Thanks for all the info and advice guys.

Pyroclasm, I will try your idea's. I only have one problem. for some reason I cannot do squats. It the moment I'm doing normal squats without waits and I struggle to complete one set. By rep number 5 my knee's actually start to physically pain and I struggle to push myself back up. Any advice on what I can do the help with this problem or if there is anything I should take to help with my knee's?

Dude you have absolutely no idea how lucky you are that you stumbled across this site! Most people won't learn in their lifetimes what I learnt here in just the first month. The thing with squats is that there is SOOOOO many things you can do wrong, and the technique is a lot to learn. When I started earlier this year I had the same problem you have with your knees using pretty much just the bar on my back. What helped big time was the following:
-Put a bench underneath your ass. When you squat try to just touch the bench with your ass then push back up again.
-Squat on the smith machine. Google it.
-Make sure your feet point straight or slightly outward.
-Make sure your knees don't buckle inwards when you push up.
-Your feet should be planted a bit forward, not directly below you.
-Feet more than shoulder width apart.
-Push up with the heels of your feet
-Keep your back straight.
-NB Do 4 warm-up sets, where you take half your max weight. Even if you do them with any weight that is fine. Use these warm up sets to find your form.
I know it's dog shit in the beginning but it will get a lot better as you get stronger. The only way you can fail is by giving up.

And don't Squat in the Curls section or Vice Versa!! :silly:

I will never give up. Thanks for the help will try it tonight and see if it works better