[JYuk]

Hi there, I'm a 16 year old male and in need of a little help.

Basically, I lost a tonne of weight and a lot of muscle mass during a spell of depression and I really want to sort things out now.

I used to have a naturally muscular structure but over a year and a half later I'm quite considerably thinner and weaker and it's really quite embarrassing. 2 of my mates already go to the gym regularly and I've been invited to join them, but I very much doubt I'd be able to keep up.
What I'm asking is, where do I start? I already cycle to 3 miles school and back but obviously I need to work on my upper body too. I have weights etc in the house but the majority of them are too heavy atm :/

I also need advice on diet

Opinions please!

[DynamicCoreSolutions]

JYuk, on 21 January 2012 - 07:46 PM, said:

Hi there, I'm a 16 year old male and in need of a little help.

Basically, I lost a tonne of weight and a lot of muscle mass during a spell of depression and I really want to sort things out now.

I used to have a naturally muscular structure but over a year and a half later I'm quite considerably thinner and weaker and it's really quite embarrassing. 2 of my mates already go to the gym regularly and I've been invited to join them, but I very much doubt I'd be able to keep up.
What I'm asking is, where do I start? I already cycle to 3 miles school and back but obviously I need to work on my upper body too. I have weights etc in the house but the majority of them are too heavy atm :/

I also need advice on diet

Opinions please!

The thing to remember is, you are 16, so you are still growing. This is actually a great time for you as your testosterone levels will be spiking and coming to their highest level over the next 2 years.

But the other thing to remember is, you are 16! So you have a lot of time ahead of you. Don't feel you have to achieve huge gains in a few weeks or anything. If you go too full on now you will regret it in a few years when you are nursing injuries and can't train the way you want to.

Don't feel you have to keep up with anyone, go at a pace that suits you and will get you in a place you will be happy with long term.

There are no quick fixes, just temporary solutions or long term improvements. Go for the latter and you'll be much happier in the long run.

As far as where to start, it sounds like you have some very basic work to do. I wouldn't head to the gym and start loading the bars up with weights just yet. Start with some body weight exercises and get your muscles working in synergy. Press-up, inverted rows, pull ups if you can manage them, bodyweight lunges and squats. If you can get use of a prowler it would be a great piece of kit for you to work with for now as it doesn't require you to deal with an eccentric load.

Then work on power - vertical jumps, squat jumps, box jumps, plyometric press ups, plyometric lunges etc.

And some isometric & core work starting with some planks (until you can hold it for at least 90 seconds).

Make sure you are working with good form at all times and then transfer that discipline to the weights room when you are ready.

Diet is a big topic in itself, but again, just work on some basics. Make sure you are getting enough water every day (aim high - around 3 or 4 litres - forget the 2 litres per day thing). Pile the veggies high and make sure you are getting high quality protein sources.

Don't over complicate it beyond that. There are more things you 'could' do and other things that will benefit you. But one thing at a time. If you can get all these things in place and stick to it, you will be well on your way and can then start looking for further improvements. But don't try to change everything at once, then it becomes a succeed or fail thing and there shouldn't be an option for failure, just the desire to do more and improve more each day.

Good luck with it,

Mark.

[sport-news4you]

Hi Newbi,

I was once were you are now, and the way I solved the problem was simply stop smoking, cut down considerably on drinking (not implying that you do of course...but I did) and started eating more, in particular protein - but be careful you need to balance it out with fibres and vegetables too.

As far as working out is concerned, have a look at this training program that really worked for me. Try it out for a few weeks and you'll see the results. Rest times are 5 minutes between the heavy sets, 2 minutes between the intermediate, and 10 minutes after the light weight set, before the next muscle group (this will be clear when you'll read the training program below).

Let me know if you have any questions;

Marco

The S.A.I.S. Training Program

Monday: Chest, biceps

Bench press (free weights, barbell)

3 sets

6 reps

(fast-twitch white muscle fibers)

Incline press (free weights, barbell)

2 sets

10 reps

(intermediate muscle fibers)

Vertical bench press (machine)

1 set

20 reps

(slow-twitch red muscle fibers)

Barbell curls (shoulder wide grip)

3 sets

6 reps

(fast-twitch white muscle fibers)

Dumbbell curls (seated)

2 sets

10 reps

(intermediate muscle fibers)

EZ-barbell curls (narrow grip)

1 set

20 reps

(slow-twitch red muscle fibers)

Tuesday: Legs

Squats (free weights, barbell)

3 sets

6 reps

(fast-twitch white muscle fibers)

Leg press (machine)

2 sets

10 reps

(intermediate muscle fibers)

Hack squats (machine)

1 set

20 reps

(slow-twitch muscle fibers)

Thursday: Shoulders, triceps

Behind the neck press (free weights, barbell)

3 sets

6 reps

(fast-twitch white muscle fibers)

Standing upright rows (free weights, EZ-barbell)

2 sets

10 reps

(intermediate muscle fibers)

Front overhead press (machine)

1 set

20 reps

(slow-twitch red muscle fibers)

Lying triceps press (free weights, EZ-barbell)

3 sets

6 reps

(fast-twitch white muscle fibers)

Overhead triceps press (free weights, EZ-barbell)

2 sets

10 reps

(intermediate muscle fibers)

Triceps pushdown (machine, cable)

1 set

20 reps

(slow-twitch red muscle fibers)

Friday: Back, calves

Front latpulldown (machine, shoulder wide grip)

3 sets

6 reps

(fast-twitch white muscle fibers)

Seated cable rows (machine, narrow grip)

2 sets

10 reps

(intermediate muscle fibers)

Dumbbell rows (one arm at a time)

1 set

20 reps

(slow-twitch red muscle fibers)

Standing calf raises (machine)

3 sets

6 reps

(fast-twitch white muscle fibers)

Seated calf raises (machine)

2 sets

10 reps

(intermediate muscle fibers)

Bend-over calf raises (machine)

1 set

20 reps

(slow-twitch red muscle fibers)

Saturday: Off

Sunday: Off

JYuk, on 21 January 2012 - 07:46 PM, said:

Hi there, I'm a 16 year old male and in need of a little help.

Basically, I lost a tonne of weight and a lot of muscle mass during a spell of depression and I really want to sort things out now.

I used to have a naturally muscular structure but over a year and a half later I'm quite considerably thinner and weaker and it's really quite embarrassing. 2 of my mates already go to the gym regularly and I've been invited to join them, but I very much doubt I'd be able to keep up.
What I'm asking is, where do I start? I already cycle to 3 miles school and back but obviously I need to work on my upper body too. I have weights etc in the house but the majority of them are too heavy atm :/

I also need advice on diet

Opinions please!

This post has been edited by fitnessandlifestyle: 25 January 2012 - 09:55 PM
Reason for edit: Read the terms and conditions again.

[clairehunter92]

Try lifting weights and getting back in exercise on a regular basis. But do start off light and build your way up to a high level of fitness first.

--Link Removed--

This post has been edited by Theo M. Whittington: 31 January 2012 - 05:16 PM