Before I give you my suggestions on how to deal with laziness and tiredness, I’ll tell you my personal experience first. Since I’m a computer programmer, I sit on my ass all day writing code. This is mentally exhaustive to begin with and coupled with the caffeine crash, it really drains you down. When I get home, all I want to do is veg out and not socialize with anyone. Thanks to all this, I really don’t feel like training at all.

So here’s what I do: I think back to my previous training experiences, especially at the end of every workout session. Anyone who remembers their training days will recall the period of relaxation after a good workout. In case you’re wondering, it’s when your hormones (dopamine and serotonin, among others) get released. Don’t you feel happy after pumping some weights? This is what I focus on. This alone gets me motivated to hit the weights again and give it all I got. Once you prepare your mind for it, the rest will flow naturally. Just doing the first exercise alone (e.g. squats) really gets my blood pumping. I am then happy that I did not ditch the scheduled workout for the day.

Now, what if you’re physically tired? This is up to the trainee to figure out and organize their schedule accordingly. If you’re constantly doing physical activities (job-related, sports, etc) it’s best to train on your off days or times where your body isn’t under constant stress. At this point, athletes should talk to their personal trainer/coach for scheduling, and people working physical jobs need to find some time to let their bodies relax before pounding it with some weights.

A forgotten tip, one that I always have to remind myself to do, is taking a quick nap (1.5-3hrs) before your workout to let your mind & body rest a bit. Coming home after a hard day’s work and sleeping for a bit is quite possibly the best thing you can do for yourself. You’ll feel so much more refreshed upon waking up, and a lot more motivated to train.

One last thing I recommend is a cup of coffee or tea before your workout. This is only useful for people who don’t already load their bodies with caffeine throughout the whole day. I find that a cup of tea or a can of Red Bull can really do wonders before exercising, almost magical-like. There are other supplements out there in the wild that are really potent in terms of energy, but I will withhold myself from listing them as getting used to them is a waste of cash and sometimes can be harmful if abused. You’re better off with my above suggestions for now. Happy training!

Strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being including increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength and toughness, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, improved cardiac function and elevated good cholesterol.

My name is Saro and I’m here to help you get stronger the fastest way possible. Welcome to my site.

Most people who want to get in shape don’t know where to begin. They also lack the experience and know-how when it comes to training in general. A lot of it has to do with general lazyness, the overwhelming amount of (bad) information that’s available in magazines, books, friends, on the web, and overall intimidation that stems from the word “strength training”. A lot of training “routines” out there are garbage, inefficient and are a waste of time. I will show you what works to maximize your gains as a newcomer to training and get you up to top speed.

The target audience of this site is for absolute beginners to [weight] training in general. People with a few months, a year or two of experience are also welcome. People who are getting back into shape will benefit highly from this routine. There is nothing complicated about it and is used by athletes, trainers, strongmen, powerlifters, bodybuilders and more worldwide. It is no secret either: it has been buried by the wealth of misinformation and myths out there, toppled over by the ad-ridden “training” magazines that do nothing but waste people’s times.

On this website, I will teach you how to lift weights properly, give you an easy to follow training program and how to manage your overall diet. Before you cringe at the mention of “diet”, it does not necessarily mean that you will be eating less. In fact, with this type of program, eating more is encouraged (of course clean, healthy foods are preferred). I will talk about this further throughout my site.

The information on this site is totally free and I won’t charge you a cent for it. What’s the catch? None; there is no catch. I don’t even want your email address to send you a lame e-book. Everything on this website is the knowledge I have learned from several years of weight training experience and a few key books I have read that I want to share with you. It is my gift to the newcomers to training and people willing to learn something classic. I was once too a beginner in the world of training and have come a long way, but still have years ahead of me in terms of gaining more knowledge. I’m your everyday average guy who wanted to change his life for the better. I wasn’t overweight, but I wasn’t exactly healthy either. My eating habits were a mess (junk food aplenty) and I was very, very weak. Luckily for me, I had friends help me get started in basic weight training, but efficiency was never achieved. Over the years, however, I learned what worked — and more specifically, what didn’t.

I’m not going to lie to you — you definitely need to get a copy of Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength book. If you actually want to learn how to squat, deadlift, bench, power clean and press properly, this book is mandatory. If I were to teach it to you myself, I would have to meet you in person and coach you. Copy/pasting the information from the book onto this website would be copyright infringement and would get me in a lot of trouble.

I promise you one thing: this book is all you need to read to get started. It is totally written for the beginner, and it gets straight to the point with no BS thrown in. Mark Rippetoe has 30+ years of experience under his belt, and this guy knows what he’s doing. Just because his name isn’t “Arnold Schwarzanegger” doesn’t mean he’s not strong and fit. Google his name and see who Mark Rippetoe is.

Do yourself a favour, just purchase a copy of the book. If you don’t like it, just send it back to Amazon and have your money refunded. Chances are, if you do actually read it, you’ll keep it and most likely refer to it as the other bible: the strength training bible.

If you ever get lost, need more information on the book, don’t quite understand how it all works — shoot me an email, or visit the Bodybuilding.com forums for a wealth of information on this subject.

So, what are you waiting for? Get healthy already and become physically stronger. Lose the beer gut and feel good for once: Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength book is all you need to get started.

Buy the book!

After, take a look at your workout routine and what you’ll be training exactly.

Not enough time: My solution to this problem is to simply organize your day around your training time. It may not work for everybody, but if you prioritize your training above everything else, you’ll manage just fine. Students should excel at organizing their daily schedules, so inserting 3-4 hours of training per week can work. People with day jobs can also manage; just hit the gym before or after your job. I would say from experience that the best time to train would be in the morning right before work or school, or during noon (around 1-2 PM) but your mileage may vary. I have noticed that training beforehand makes your day go by much quicker.

Not enough money for a gym membership: Maybe I’m spoiled with the extremely low membership fees at my local gym, but this shouldn’t be an excuse. Let’s say a yearly gym membership costs 4 to 6 hundred dollars (USD). For teenagers and students, this may seem expensive, but for the working-class people out there, it shouldn’t. Instead of dining out every week, put the money in a jar and save it for the gym membership. Having too many parties? Spending too much on gadgets? You get the drift. Remember, the gym (and training) is an investment for your health: if you much rather sit at home and watch movies on your spiffy new Blu-ray player, then perhaps it’s time to change your ways and get off your ass.

No clue on where to start: this is a valid excuse for most people, but if you’re reading this site, it no longer is. Just do yourself a favor and buy a strength training book and learn from a professional coach with visuals. You’ll thank me later.

One of my weakest areas of training is the bench press I have to admit. As of this post, I am going up in weight on the squat and deadlift on a weekly basis, while the power clean and shoulder press are progressing slowly. This is to be expected according to a professional strength training coach as the squat and deaf-lift use more muscles than the other exercises, so you will go up in weight much quicker on them as opposed to the shoulder press, power clean and bench press.

If you are interested in breaking a bench press plateau, take a look at the following suggestions.

1. Eat well and check your diet: most rookies who start training will go up in weight and strength quite quickly without eating properly, but will end up plateauing eventually. Nutrition is probably the biggest cause of plateaus. If you want your muscles to recover and get stronger, proper nutrition is required during this phase. Remember, muscle is not made in the gym; it’s when you go home and recover after your workouts with good, clean food that allows your muscles to grow. Double check your diet; take in more protein and (clean) carbohydrates during the day. After your workout, have more protein (shakes are good) and eat well. Sometimes, people don’t eat enough and hence plateau since the muscles don’t have enough (or any) food to recover.
2. Make sure your triceps and shoulders are good: weak triceps and shoulders will definitely stall your bench press, so make sure they’re up to par with the rest of your body. Are you doing the shoulder presses properly? Perhaps you may need additional triceps work (weighted dips are great!) to help with the load. This is usually overlooked by a lot of people.
3. Switch to dumbbells: some people have better results with dumbbells than barbells. Rippetoe even says that dumbbells are a great (actually, better) alternative to barbells when it comes to the bench press, as it allows greater range of motion. Of course, you should definitely master the barbell bench press first before you switch to dumbbells.
4. Take a break if you are over-training: if you have been training for months without taking a break, you should really consider laying off the weights for a week to let your fatigued body heal completely. Chances are you will come back stronger than when you left the weights. I have personally seen my strength shoot up quite a bit when I did this once, so I recommend this to anyone who has been training non-stop for months. Of course, if you’re a newcomer to weight training, taking a week off during the first 6 months to a year (in my opinion) is useless. Rookies should train as much and not miss a workout for a year (at least) as over-training their bodies during this stage is almost non-existent. For a rookie, there is no such thing as over-training. No such thing.

A lot of people will also recommend doing high repetitions for a month or two. I personally think this “recommendation” isn’t that great since it defeats the whole purpose of a strength training routine. Just my opinion, anyway.

1. Always perform warm ups before your exercises. Warming up allows your muscles to get ready to the exercises’ motions and oncoming weight increases. By getting your muscles warmed up and increasing your heart rate, you are preparing your muscles for activity and letting them know that you’re about to use them. On Rippetoe’s routine, you should always warm up with an empty bar and then gradually increase the weights slowly until your work sets. Take a look at the warming up page for more information on how to properly warm up.
2. Make sure you’re 100% certain you can lift the weight. I’ve seen it too many times and it’s happened to me on one occasion (that resulted in my injury!): people (usually newbies) get too cocky and load up more weight on the bar then they can handle. Besides witnessing weights tumble down onto the floor, the unlucky ones will receive a jolt of pain in specific muscles. My advice: increase your weights slowly and don’t rush anything. Remember, there’s always the next workout to increase in weight!
3. Stretch your muscles after every workout. Usually overlooked and forgotten, stretching after your workouts will help with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) which is basically next-day soreness and/or pain (a lot of rookies new to training will feel it). Stretching is beneficial for keeping your muscles happy, as it allows your muscles to strengthen, increase the range within a joint, and more blood and oxygen to pass through (thanks to the mechanical means of stretching the muscle). This way, future cramps are prevented and you’ll be ready for your next workout without (much) pain. Sometimes people also tend to stretch before their workouts. I consider this good practice as well and highly recommend it to start off your training on the right foot.
   

Since you are on a strength training program, proper nutrition is an extremely important factor (when is it not when it comes to weight lifting?). Following this routine, you should be taking in a lot of protein, such as meat, eggs, milk and fish. According to weight lifters everywhere, you should be taking in a gram of protein (1g) per pound (1lb) of body weight. What you want is good quality food/calories in your body and not junk food. You can have your McDonalds hamburgers, your weekly pizza with your friends and eat out every now and then, but you should really consider eating clean healthy foods for a lean bulk/body. Get rid of the candy, soda and chips and start eating a lot of meat. Steak, ground beef, fish, chicken, etc. are your best friends in world of weightlifting. Remember that weight lifting makes you strong and eating makes you big. But you don’t want to be big as in fat! Proper nutrition along with heavy lifting is what results in someone becoming big with strong muscles.

Keep in mind that you don’t make muscles in the gym: working out simply ‘shreds’ your muscles. Recovery is when your muscles start to rebuild themselves using the nutrients in your body. When you lack the proper nutrients, you can’t make good, strong muscles.

Here is a short overview of the type of foods you should be eating throughout the day. Instead of having 3 square meals a day, try splitting it up into 5-6 periods.

In The Mornings

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, hands down. Eating breakfast will give you sufficient energy to start right and pretty much make your overall day a pleasant one. Skipping breakfast is never recommended. If you skip this meal of the day, you might as well stop training now because you will be wasting your time.

Foods such as whole wheat, oats, cereals (non-sugary ones!), eggs, milk, toast, bread and fruits are highly recommended. Eat a lot of protein and carbohydrates to have enough fuel to last until lunch time.

Consuming fruit juices such as apples, grapes and oranges (Vitamin C) are encouraged along with your breakfast.

Before Lunch

Before having your lunch, have a snack or two. Protein bars, energy shakes/drinks and fruit are great to keep your energy levels up. Tuna and peanut butter sandwiches can be considered light snacks.

Lunch

Lunch should consist of a lot of protein and carbohydrates, such as skinless chicken and potatoes. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches along with a banana also make a decent lunch for people on the run. Have some spaghetti with your favourite toppings (such as meat or seafood) and stay away from junk foods! Tuna sandwiches with mayonnaise is also acceptable.

After Lunch

From lunch to your workout, you should have a light snack or two. It can consist of small light sandwiches rich with proteins (tuna) or a small salad.

Before Working Out

Before your workout begins, you should be loaded with carbohydrates (most of it should come from the foods you have been eating throughout the day) to stay energized throughout your workout. Do not have a heavy meal before going to the gym or else you will have stomach pains and quite possibly become very sick

If you take creatine, consuming it now is a great option and probably the best time to do so (45 minutes to an hour before your workout).

During Your Workout

Consume a lot of water and natural juices. You can also consume EAA/BCAAs and creatine here if you wish to do so.

After Working Out

This is when you should be taking in enough protein to satisfy your muscles’ demands for optimum recovery. There is a two (2) hour window after your workout that opens up your body into taking protein efficiently, so I suggest you use this period wisely as it is a key role in muscle recovery. If you do not sufficiently feed your body after the workout period, you will be hurting your gains, not to mention the current ones.

Dinner

Dinner should not be heavy. I would personally stay away from carbohydrates during this time and simply have a light protein dinner such as a chicken salad. Consuming carbohydrates at this point is at your own suggestion as you do not want to have trouble sleeping before bedtime arrives.

Biography

I’m your typical male living in Montreal, Quebec. I have completed college (referred to as “CEGEP” here in Montreal) in Computer Science. I started lifting weights in my first year of CEGEP (2002). Before that, I was extremely unhealthy in high school and did not really look after myself. I drank numerous amounts of cola, ate junk food regularly and decided to despise fruits and vegetables. Miraculously, I did not gain massive amounts of weight (thanks to my fast metabolism) but I didn’t feel good and that was a problem. So, after consulting a few friends who were into training regularly, they lead me on to the right path and got me lifting weights. I frequented my local gym (Monster Gym) regularly and noticed an increase in my overall mood to the better. My physique started to change and for the first time in my life, I had muscles! (I can hear the laughs out there).

Why I Started This Site

Almost everyone who has lifted weights in their lives claims to know how to do it properly, but the fact of the matter is that serious training is not something everyone truly knows about. I see a lot of people making mistakes at the gym, either by reading a magazine that states lies such as the latest and “quickest ways to get a six pack for the summer” or inquiring a friend who supposedly knows about training the correct way even though they have no idea behind the discipline of weight training. I started this website because I want to inform the rookie (a newcomer to training) who simply wants to train and get strong without all the useless bullshit that stems from the “fitness” magazines. This site is targeted to the trainee who is completely lost when it comes to strength training and has absolutely no clue on where to begin. No prior weight lifting or training experience is needed to begin a strength training routine.

Please note that this site has nothing to do with Mark Rippetoe, Lon Kilgore or The Aasgard Company. The opinions and reviews mentioned on this site are not sponsored or endorsed by said parties. All the content on this site is only a detailed journey of a beginner starting a strength training program.