Weight training starter,can not do chin up.

Question

I have been going to a gym for last three weeks (3-4 times in a week).

During the first two weeks, I have done some cardio, push-ups, chest exercises, pull overs, and push-up dips.

And now my instructor gave me a detailed routine for three days.

• Day 1 - chest and triceps
• Day 2 - biceps and back
• Day 3 - legs and lower body

I can not do a proper chin-up right now. I am a bit confused. Am I ready for these weight trainings?

Without chin-ups, I can do most of the weight training in three sets (7-10 reps). I have heard chin-up is the "meter" to measure how fit a person is.

My weight is 56kg, height is 5'8".

Is cardio necessary for me? I am eating larger meals and milk, eggs, etc., and also having a nutrition food named "JUVO".

I am a bit confused about the current process because my aim is to gain some weight, muscle, and solid strength.

Hopefully your suggestion can help me.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

my aim is to gain some weight, muscle, and solid strength.

Start some basic strength program (5/3/1 or Starting Strength), eat like a horse, sleep eight quality hours, be consistent and have some patience. In 6 months you will not believe that you were unable to do a chin up.

Answer 2

I recommend asking your instructor about pull-ups, deadlifts, and squats. Perhaps the instructor can help you lift heavy weights and do pull-ups instead of using machines and doing push-ups.

I don't know the "pull-over" but dips are very good. They are like the other side of pull-ups.

Answer 3

Am I ready for these weight trainings?

Almost everybody is 'ready' for weight training. What kind and what level will vary based on your ability. It seems like you are a beginner who has extremely low muscle mass. My advice is to follow your "instructor's" workout and ask him about substitutions for movements that you cannot do.

I would also recommend to stick to mainly big, compound movements -but with some isolation thrown into the mix- such as:

Either barbell or dumbbell:

• Bench Variations
• Rows
• Shoulder Press

Machine or cable:

• Pull downs
• Rowing variations
• Assisted Pull ups
• Leg Press

More advanced lifts:

• Deadlifts
• Squats

This by no means a complete list but general movements that will help you put on the most amount of muscle mass while increasing your strength.

Finally, make sure to increase your caloric intake. Eating somewhere around ~2500 calories with a split of 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat -it's pretty flexible though- will also help a lot.

Here are some resources to increase your knowledge:

• ExRx.net general exercise info, has a good exercise database.

• Youtube, obviously not a specific exercise resource but you can find great video tutorials such as:

  • The Squat Rx series
  • How to improve your bench by Diesel Crew
  • Bent over Row tutorial by Gym Junkies
  • Scott Herman Fitness has a ton of videos which are generally ok

And obviously fitness.stackxchange! One thing I encourage you to do is to learn as much as you can and don't rely on a single source. Also just stick with it, the most important thing for lifting is consistency. If you stick to a bad program for a year, you will get better results than sticking to a good program for a month.

Answer 4

If your goal is to - gain some weight, muscle, and solid strength - then the 3 day program you have above (as generic as it's stated) seems to be correct. It's a matter of pushing yourself during each exercise program - dedication and determination. Your trainer should be able to give you an est. of how long it should take before you see results - typically it could be 3-4 weeks, but it's all based on how hard you push yourself. Your other question about chin ups being a measure of fitness...? I've heard the same said about bench pressing, deadlifts, squats, etc. The # of chinups you do will measure just that - and be reflective of your upper back and arm strength - based on your stated program, you should start to be able to do chin ups once you're near being able to deadlift your own weight - it all takes time. VPeric provided a link to some good exercises to improve your chinups - follow the link.