Advice for a 15 year old?

snoopytoop

Hi guys,
I am a 15 year old male. I want to start weight training to get a bit bigger and stronger. I would be doing weights in addition to the push-ups and pull-ups and sit ups I already do aswell as the running and cycling I do (I cycle for around an hour 5 days a week and run quite often aswell but I want to start running more).
My aim is to get stronger and bigger (but not too big, just as big as a boxer or mma fighter for example). I also want to get better abs but I do have a two pack at the moment. What is your advic on what I should do? I was thinking of following the starting strength program by mark rippetoe. Where would I get a barbell set cheaply and do I need to get a bench and a squat rack aswell?
Was also looking at the barstars website. These guys do only body weight exercises! What are your opinions on this?
Thanks for all the help

googled eyes

How are you getting on at your bodyweight exercises ? Pull ups are an amazing movement which will really help build your back. You can do a good bit at your age with BW movements and the right nutritional information. Check out the stickies on food and nutrition in the health forum.Is there weight training equipment in your school ?

If your aim is to get bigger I wouldn't worry about your abs for a while. At 15 with the correct weights regime and food you can do really well with muscle and strength gains.

If your school does not have weight training gear look up adverts.ie or gumtree etc. You should be able to find a bench and barbell plus steel plates cheaper there than in a shop.

cgmd1

Learn how to do the following lifts properly

Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Press and Bench

add them to what you're doing and eat lotos of real food.

Starting Strength is a good program for a beginner to weights.

Do you have access to a gym that has barbells and plates?

snoopytoop

Thanks for the quick replies! I am not sure if I am able to get a barbell and bench. What kind of gains could I make with dumbells or am I better to stick with body weight exercises? Unfortunately there aren't weights at school and my parents aren't keen on me getting a barbell and a bench. So what advice would you give me?

cgmd1

You could do plenty with one heavy dumbbell, a pull up bar and bodyweight exercises.

.ie
Pull Ups / Chin Ups
Squats / Single Leg Squats
Push Ups (there are endless variations) / One Arm Push Ups
Hindu Push Ups / Hindu Squats
Head Stands / Hand Stands

Sprints / Hill Sprints

Dumbbell Clean & Press
Dumbbell Snatch
Dumbbell Swings
Dumbbell Curl & Press
Dumbbell Goblet Squats

That is a tiny fraction of what can be done, look up all those exercises.

Check out rosstraining.com too. He sells some amazing books 'Never Gymless' and 'Infinite Intensity' these books outline everything you will ever need for training with minimal equipment. They are also very good value, maybe $20 each.

Check out Al Kavadlo's blog too for a tonne of bodyweight training information.

In essence it is more about EFFORT than EQUIPMENT. You can make excellent progress with minimal or even no equipment.

snoopytoop

Thanks again for the help those links had loads of information! Also was wondering about kettlebells? Do they build muscle or are they more for endurance and fat loss? If I were to get either dumbells or kettlebells, which should I get? Thanks again ill be starting with the bodyweight exercises in the morning

burrenguy

i second infinite intensity and never gymless.. both quality books. If you can't train in a gym or with a barbell, these two are brilliant.

cgmd1

snoopytoop wrote: »

Thanks again for the help those links had loads of information! Also was wondering about kettlebells? Do they build muscle or are they more for endurance and fat loss? If I were to get either dumbells or kettlebells, which should I get? Thanks again ill be starting with the bodyweight exercises in the morning

Kettlebells are great, definitely a good investment, but you can't change the weight of a kettlebell, they also require some coaching to perform the exercises properly. You can get pretty strong with kettlebells for sure but you would need more than one. Yes, they are great for fat loss and endurance.

A dumbbell set offers a bit more flexibility. Maybe look at spinlock dumbbells that can be made up to 30kg+ or more.

Heavy Dumbbell Clean & Presses and Snatches are awesome full body exercises.

The best investment right now would be the Ross Enamait books tho. All the info you could ever need is in them.

Thelostcountry

snoopytoop wrote: »

Hi guys,
I am a 15 year old male. I want to start weight training to get a bit bigger and stronger. I would be doing weights in addition to the push-ups and pull-ups and sit ups I already do aswell as the running and cycling I do (I cycle for around an hour 5 days a week and run quite often aswell but I want to start running more).
My aim is to get stronger and bigger (but not too big, just as big as a boxer or mma fighter for example). I also want to get better abs but I do have a two pack at the moment. What is your advic on what I should do? I was thinking of following the starting strength program by mark rippetoe. Where would I get a barbell set cheaply and do I need to get a bench and a squat rack aswell?
Was also looking at the barstars website. These guys do only body weight exercises! What are your opinions on this?
Thanks for all the help

great to see a post like this from a young Fella,I wish My 15 year old nephew would post stuff like this,rather on Feckbook and playing his PS3! so fair play to You.

1st off, how many Months have you been exercising?? I would not spend Money on weights unless you are totally commited,so if You are trainning for more then six months ,I would start to think you are serious about trainning. Maybe this is why Your parents are not kin on spending money on weights yet??

Do not underestimate the gains you can make with push ups and pull ups, I do pull ups with a school bag and 30lbs inside ,push ups also. so if you can do 20 pushups ,You can ad a lil weight, Your school bag with some books inside would be good:pac:

always use perfect forum.


Good luck to You.

snoopytoop

Sorry for the late reply but thank you all for the advice I'm going to get my dumbells in the next few days what do you think of these? http://www.ebay.ie/itm/30KG-DUMBBELL-SET-WEIGHTS-TRAINING-GYM-WORKOUT-FITNESS-HOME-MUSCLE-BODYBUILDING-/380580472882?pt=UK_Strength_Training&hash=item589c5d2832

I will also probably get the infinite intensity book by ross training. I plan on building a dip bar in my garden as I heard they are great for triceps and chest. I will make dip belt aswell so I can do weighted pull-ups and dips with the plates that come with the dumbells and ill probably start doing weighted ab work with the plates so i can get my six pack haha apart from the Ross training books, does anyone know of a book similar to the starting strength book that is intended for use with dumbells?
In reply to the lost county, I can currently do around 45 push-ups, 15 pull-ups and 18 chin-ups. I can also do about 45 sit-ups... To give you an idea of what I have done so far do you not think doing pull-ups with a weighted backpack could damage your back? I will try the weighted push-ups though
Thanks again everyone!

burrenguy

snoopytoop wrote: »

Sorry for the late reply but thank you all for the advice I'm going to get my dumbells in the next few days what do you think of these? http://www.ebay.ie/itm/30KG-DUMBBELL-SET-WEIGHTS-TRAINING-GYM-WORKOUT-FITNESS-HOME-MUSCLE-BODYBUILDING-/380580472882?pt=UK_Strength_Training&hash=item589c5d2832

I will also probably get the infinite intensity book by ross training. I plan on building a dip bar in my garden as I heard they are great for triceps and chest. I will make dip belt aswell so I can do weighted pull-ups and dips with the plates that come with the dumbells and ill probably start doing weighted ab work with the plates so i can get my six pack haha apart from the Ross training books, does anyone know of a book similar to the starting strength book that is intended for use with dumbells?
In reply to the lost county, I can currently do around 45 push-ups, 15 pull-ups and 18 chin-ups. I can also do about 45 sit-ups... To give you an idea of what I have done so far do you not think doing pull-ups with a weighted backpack could damage your back? I will try the weighted push-ups though
Thanks again everyone!

PM sent.. hopefully you got it.
-The dumbells seem ok, but you could probably get a barbell and dumbell set for a similar price in Argos, Elverys or somewhere like that.
-Yep dips are a good idea. Make sure you know what you're doing when you're making your own equipment. You wouldn't want the belt to snap on you suddenly. I don't think there's any real Starting Strength equivalent for dumbbells.. If you're looking to build strength, Its slightly harder with dumbbells because of the increments you have to go up in. Also, the dumbbells in the link show 14.5kg on each handle.. you'll be hard pressed to fit any more plates on the handle unless you buy some 5 kg plates, like the ones here.
-Assuming you've good form for those bodyweight exercises, those are good enough numbers. When I say good enough, I mean you have no reason to keep increasing rep numbers unless you're training for a push up competition or something. You also shouldn't damage your back by doing weighted pull ups or push ups unless you add too much and allow your form to deteriorate.
Good luck.

snoopytoop

Yes I got the pm thank you very much is there one for infinite intensity, I couldn't find it on the sight? My parents aren't that keen on me getting a barbell unfortunately. Do you think it would be a good idea to get a bench with the dumbells? I saw a 20kg dumbell set in Argos slightly cheaper. Is 20 kg enough wait for a while or will I quickly need more plates?

burrenguy

There is one for Infinite Intensity, its just to the right of the screen underneath the heading of Ross Enamait.
The bench with dumbbells isn't overly necessary, particularly if you follow the stuff in Infinite Intensity. As long as you've somewhere to lie down or have a chair or two you'll probably be alright.
I'd say you'll need more weights quickly enough if you're using dumbbells as your primary tool. However, that set might keep you going for a while assuming you're using bodyweight exercise a good bit too.

Greenmachine

Wow my brother threw out a set of dumbells and a bench, just the month before last, as they were just sitting in the parents garage gathering just.
Perhaps you could post up your diet also for people to review. You seem to be trying to do everything at once get big, get your 6 pack, and do alot of cardio. While cardio is obviously a positive thing. If you do alot of it, you need to eat even more to make weight gains.

cgmd1

http://www.rosstraining.com/infiniteintensity.html

rubadub

snoopytoop wrote: »

I saw a 20kg dumbell set in Argos slightly cheaper. Is 20 kg enough wait for a while or will I quickly need more plates?

The ones in your ebay link are plastic/vinyl plates which are full of cement. They are less dense to take up precious room on the handles, they also degrade over time and have a lower resale value. I have never once seen people recommend vinyl over cast iron.

I have the bog standard argos cast iron ones. I just got extra plates as I went on, I load it up with 5kg plates and smaller ones to get just under 30kg on a single dumbbell.

Amazon are cheap enough since post is free if over £25
http://www.amazon.co.uk/York-Cast-Iron-Dumbbell-Set/dp/B004ELB550/ref=sr_1_2?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1382538260&sr=1-2&keywords=20kg

I would get this kit though, a very good price
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9003204/Trail/searchtext%3E50KG.htm
It comes with the 5kg plates which you can load onto the dumbbells.

It is usually cheaper to buy a kit like this all at once, a separate barbell costs quite a bit "per kilo"

runawaybishop

Theres a decent amount of bodyweight exercises you can do - take a look at his thread- http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056185716

snoopytoop

Thanks again for all the help in response to green machine yes I will bulk up and then cut before I expect to get better abs but I will do lots of weighted ab work while I am bulking so they get bigger and I can see them better when I cut btw what kind of set/reps are recommended for abs? I was going to do 3 sets of 5 on everything else, is that good for abs too?
I will probably put up a post in the training logs section soon, I do not watch my diet much at the moment but I eat very healthily
I was also wondering if I would be better off not getting any dumbells but some plates and a dip belt and just doing weighted pullups, chin-ups, dips, push-ups and also goblet squats or one legged goblet squats holding the plates like a dumbell in the goblet squats. I would also do some other bodyweight exercises. How would this work or should I get dumbells? In reply to rubadub, unfortunately I'm not able to get a barbell at the moment. And another question, what do you guys think of the book solitary fitness vs never gymless?
Thanks again guys

emdh00

Does anyone know where to buy those books infinite intensity andnever gymless, not the e books
thanks,

EmcD123

If you have a pull up bar already, then google paralettes,theres pletny of make your own guides using pvc pipe,should cost about 30euro maybe 25.
They work really well and will allow you to train for some pretty cool bodyweight excercises. Plus theyre light and portable so you can bring them with you anywhere you go

Pat_custard

First of all great to see somebody at your age not afraid to get up and get involved in something they want to do, well done.

Secondly at your age I wouldn't focus too much on heavy weight training to improve strength but rather focus on your own body weight.

I'd advise you to stick with pull ups (one of the best exercises around) both overhand, underhand, wide and narrow. Along with press ups, sits ups, hand stand shoulder press etc. for the time being

you could also buy a boxing bag which will would aid in strength training and excellent cardio.

Blacktie.

Pat_custard wrote: »

Secondly at your age I wouldn't focus too much on heavy weight training to improve strength but rather focus on your own body weight.
.

Why not? He has that natural Test a flowing! Might as well make good use of it.

Pat_custard

Blacktie. wrote: »

Why not? He has that natural Test a flowing! Might as well make good use of it.

I just think at his age he has a lot of natural growing to do his muscles will already be under strain from just being at his age without him even knowing it so by doing heavy weights I firmly believe it could stunt his natural growth.

Alf Veedersane

Pat_custard wrote: »

I just think at his age he has a lot of natural growing to do his muscles will already be under strain from just being at his age without him even knowing it so by doing heavy weights I firmly believe it could stunt his natural growth.

That weight training stunts natural growth is a myth.

He'll only lift heavy weights when he's physically capable of it. If he can lift heavy weights properly then he's physically capable of it.

Mellor

Pat_custard wrote: »

I firmly believe it could stunt his natural growth.

Firm belief is meaningless. You are basing it on an old wives tale you heard.

It's been proven to be incorrect.

emdh00

Anyone know where to buy cheap medicine balls.???

Alf Veedersane

What's your budget?

Mellor

emdh00 wrote: »

Anyone know where to buy cheap medicine balls.???

Cheap basketballs + gravel and sand