Building muscle for a beginner

[plantseverywhere]

Hello everyone!

I have recently joined a gym for the first time. I am looking to build muscle, particularly in my legs but all over.

As I’m such a beginner I am taking it easy and working out three times a week. I usually start with the treadmill then arm exercises with dumbbells (trying to go for lower reps and higher weights), leg press, weighted machine I don’t know the name of which also works your legs 😂, the spin bike and then weighted squats/lunges before stretching.

I’m also trying to increase my protein intake.

Is there anything else I should be doing?

I am in recovery from an eating disorder. I am weight restored and my bmi is about 19.5, but my head is not recovered. I have found going to the gym has helped massively as it has meant I no longer weigh myself or strive to look smaller. It does mean that I don’t track calories or macros or anything like that.

Any tips or advice would be helpful! Should I be doing anything on rest days, for example?

All due respect, and I completely appreciate and validate your desire to gain muscle, but I'm a bit wary about you seeking advice from, and being given advice by, laypeople on this topic given your history of ED.

Your current routine is fine, and I'd stick to nothing more than walking or stretching on rest days. Down the line, you could consider seeing a PT but I'd be very careful to choose one who was willing and able to work in a way which was constructive for your history and doesn't nudge you towards laser focusing too much on any aspect of diet or exercise.

Firstly - any exercise regime in your situation needs to be run past a gp or therapist or whoever you use for recovery help.

If you want to build muscle then you need to prioritise that. Personally is suggest ditching the spin bike and use the treadmill for just a warmup.

Prioritise lower body first.
Squats
Lunges
Rear leg elevated split squats
Hip thrusts
Deadlifts

Then
Bench press
Pull downs
Arms (bi / tri)

3 sessions like this a week and fill in with walking etc on other days.
Or 2 sessions and a dedicated spin class

But...... and I guess this is the tough bit. To build muscle you need to be in calorie surplus. Not loads but still more than you use.

@AquaticSewingMachine I appreciate your concerns! In terms of a PT, I don’t think I would do this because of the reasons you say. Also expensive!

I can’t sit here and say nothing is going to go wrong at all and it will be plain sailing, but so far it’s a lot better than it was and I no longer feel the need to weigh myself, nor am I constantly looking in the mirror for a thigh gap.

@Tallerthanmost Thank you! I think a spin class would finish me at the moment but maybe further down the line!

I guess the thing is, I don’t mind eating a calorie surplus if I feel it’s for a specific reason but I just absolutely can’t track calories so that’s the difficult bit. Looking at my diet and with a knowledge of calories I am probably eating about 1800-2000.

@plantseverywhere - are you able to weigh ingredients when if you can't track calories?

I've found the Joe Wicks programme brilliant for me in terms of not counting calories but making sure I have the right heathy fuel for a strong and lean (note - not skinny!) body.

How's exercise programmes are really yawnsome in my opinion so I just did YouTube stuff instead.

I haven’t belonged to a gym for a long time but I thought they always offered an initial free consultation with a personal trainer.

maybe you could discuss a programme with Him/her and have a monthly catch up.

do the gym do body pump classes? That’s a good all rounder. I’m a PT but I have to admit I don’t do any cardio 🫣. When you say build muscle do you mean become lean or build muscle as in get bigger

You will need to eat more and increase your protein intake massively. The only way to do this is to track calories and macros on my fitness pal. You’ll probably need around 120-140g protein per day.
Your exercise routine sounds great! As you say, aim for 8-12 reps of 3 sets and lift as heavy as you can.

Caution is obviously required to ensure exercise is not your replacement addiction, to the detriment of your overall wellbeing OP. However, my sister started with anorexia around age 18 - severely affected and it is miraculous she held down an extremely responsible job, and was not hospitalised. Becoming interested in fitness , turned her life around. She is now late 50's, still very fit, eats healthily, and is a healthy weight. I don't think the mind ever fully recovers from an eating disorder, but my sister shows that even after many years of suffering, it is possible to control it instead of it controlling you. Good luck.

Big multi joint lifts are what you want. Train 3 times a week on non consecutive days.

Pick 3 or 4 from the below for each session. Do not do each one more than twice a week and try to pick a mix of upper and lower body.

Deadlift
Squat
Benchpress
Shoulder press
Pull ups (assisted)
dips (assisted)
Bent over rows

Then a couple of isolation exercises to finish.

Session should take no longer than 1 hour.

Have a slight Kcal surplus and eat some cottage cheese before bed.

This is good advice imo.

Calorie surplus for muscle gain can we as little as 100 cal, so a good protein shake. I swore on one as I was leaving the gym.

For muscle again you effectively need to rip and repair the muscle, that's the ache you feel.

Maybe read up about about the science too.

I loved doing things like pyramid weights to take myself to muscle failure.

I’m a PT and can say that you defo don’t need them!! You can find so many beginner plans on Google.

if you want to PM me it’s no probs at all! I was teaching body pump and that’s a great all rounder

i have come from an eating disorder, and started the gym, xx❤️ I’m not sure of the exact situation

I’ve just realised I’ve posted twice on this thread! Sorry xxx