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Hey guys, so I've been reading on this and other forums for a few weeks and decided that this one had the most knowledgeable members that I could learn the most from in my quest to get stronger. I've read most of the stickys so I will try not to be redundant but I apologize if I ask questions that have been answered.
I'm 22 and have about 3 years of weightlifting experience, but most of that consisted of me doing a bunch of isolation exercises to "really feel that pump" and maybe the occasional compound movement. On top of that, I had some bad luck with sports injuries and was unable to lift for the past year or so, which translated into me sitting on my ass sans-exercise for far too long. In that time I've lost a lot of size and strength, and I'm looking to gain it back and then some. I'm more interested in gaining functional strength than getting big.
For the last month I've been doing a 2-day split, something like this:
A: deadlifts, leg presses, calf raises, abs
B: DB flat/incline bench, seated DB shoulder press, cable rows, chinups
I was hesitant to jump into doing bent-over BB rows, squats, overhead press, etc without a better base of strength, which is why I started with easier replacements like the cable rows and leg press. I realize now that I'm not doing myself any favors by doing the easier exercises, so I'm going to focus on the compound BB exercises even if I need to start really light and get the technique down. I've been practicing deadlifts all month, started at 135 to learn technique and strengthen my lower back, and have worked my way up to 315x3 and 325x1 on my last workout. I'm confident that I can continue to make weekly gains in this lift. I did squats for the first time 2 days ago, first a few sets with just the bar making sure I was getting deep enough (below parallel), then 3 sets of 135x10. I feel like I need to rep out 135-ish for a few workouts to strengthen all the supporting muscles in my legs/back that the leg press didn't work before I start adding more weight to the bar.
The remaining lifts that I want to start ASAP are the bentover BB row (pendlay?), overhead press, and BB bench press. I was planning on starting at 135ish for reps on the bench because I've done it before (but still need to start light to get back into it after so long), but am not sure where to begin on the other two. Should I just start with the 45lb bar for the first workout and concentrate on technique, then slowly go up weekly? Keep in mind I've never done these 2 lifts.
I'm also not sure how much lightweight squatting I should do before starting to up the weight significantly. My first sets of 135lb-squats hit my legs/glutes WAY harder than leg pressing with like 8 45lb plates piled onto both sides of the sled, so I know I have some stabilizing muscles that need to get stronger before I can load up on the weight. I also want to be sure my back is strong enough to maintain a healthy arch throughout the squat before going heavier.
Any advice you guys have for a newbie would be greatly appreciated. What kind of weight/reps/sets/frequency should I do for the lifts I've never tried? How quickly/slowly should I start to add weight on these new lifts? Are there any essential compound lifts I'm missing? I also want to learn power cleans, but I'm not sure that's something I should be doing without a knowledgeable teacher with me in the gym to correct me. Any thoughts?
I'm 22 and have about 3 years of weightlifting experience, but most of that consisted of me doing a bunch of isolation exercises to "really feel that pump" and maybe the occasional compound movement. On top of that, I had some bad luck with sports injuries and was unable to lift for the past year or so, which translated into me sitting on my ass sans-exercise for far too long. In that time I've lost a lot of size and strength, and I'm looking to gain it back and then some. I'm more interested in gaining functional strength than getting big.
For the last month I've been doing a 2-day split, something like this:
A: deadlifts, leg presses, calf raises, abs
B: DB flat/incline bench, seated DB shoulder press, cable rows, chinups
I was hesitant to jump into doing bent-over BB rows, squats, overhead press, etc without a better base of strength, which is why I started with easier replacements like the cable rows and leg press. I realize now that I'm not doing myself any favors by doing the easier exercises, so I'm going to focus on the compound BB exercises even if I need to start really light and get the technique down. I've been practicing deadlifts all month, started at 135 to learn technique and strengthen my lower back, and have worked my way up to 315x3 and 325x1 on my last workout. I'm confident that I can continue to make weekly gains in this lift. I did squats for the first time 2 days ago, first a few sets with just the bar making sure I was getting deep enough (below parallel), then 3 sets of 135x10. I feel like I need to rep out 135-ish for a few workouts to strengthen all the supporting muscles in my legs/back that the leg press didn't work before I start adding more weight to the bar.
The remaining lifts that I want to start ASAP are the bentover BB row (pendlay?), overhead press, and BB bench press. I was planning on starting at 135ish for reps on the bench because I've done it before (but still need to start light to get back into it after so long), but am not sure where to begin on the other two. Should I just start with the 45lb bar for the first workout and concentrate on technique, then slowly go up weekly? Keep in mind I've never done these 2 lifts.
I'm also not sure how much lightweight squatting I should do before starting to up the weight significantly. My first sets of 135lb-squats hit my legs/glutes WAY harder than leg pressing with like 8 45lb plates piled onto both sides of the sled, so I know I have some stabilizing muscles that need to get stronger before I can load up on the weight. I also want to be sure my back is strong enough to maintain a healthy arch throughout the squat before going heavier.
Any advice you guys have for a newbie would be greatly appreciated. What kind of weight/reps/sets/frequency should I do for the lifts I've never tried? How quickly/slowly should I start to add weight on these new lifts? Are there any essential compound lifts I'm missing? I also want to learn power cleans, but I'm not sure that's something I should be doing without a knowledgeable teacher with me in the gym to correct me. Any thoughts?
