Sam, before you take any of this into consideration is that you need to be mentally prepared. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing is going to get or be accomplished if your mind isn\'t set on a fixed goal.
My best mental approach to a situation like this is to have many "small" goals in mind to reach a very big one. For instance, if you have a targeted body weight and fat percentage, then set your workout to do that desired goal. Then from there, you should worry about muscle.
One thing that is extremely bold in weight training in general is intimidation. Whether you go to a Balley Total Fitness or a small gym, there are going to be your extremely fit guys, and your couch potato\'s. If you really want to know the honest truth, because I\'ve been into serious weight training (being I am in amateur wrestling) for 2 years, people really do not care what you look like. People tend to have thoughts about the newbee, and some talk amongst themselves, but after a manner of a few visits, it wears off.
Plus, after having a dedicated schedule for some months, pretty soon your body is going to get really used to it, and it will be like "in your blood."
My best advise if you want to gain muscle, is to start light and simple. Work your way up. Don\'t opt for the biggest and heaviest of weights, and do like 1-2 reps. You\'ll never see results.
My scheduele consists of 4 days every other day in the gym for 2-3 hours of gruelsm workouts. I usually do about 20-25 different things at 4-5 sets. I have 4 runs throughout the week consisting of 10 miles too. But, that\'s just the nature of wrestling in general. No way am I encouraging you to run 10 miles and what not.
Plus, you are going to definitely see a significant difference between people who want to look good and are trying to not be fat, and the people who dedicate themselves to this stuff, like me. There is not 1 day that goes by that I do not work for at least 2 hours. I have almost no body fat on my arms and calves, and about 8% 1-inch from my waist. But most of all, this is what I love to do. This was my desire as a kid to be this person in mind.
A diet is also extremely ideal. I have been eating no junk food and just really un-healthy foods for about 2 and a half years. After awhile, the cravings just wear out. I never look at cakes and say, "man, I wish I had a piece of that right now."
Before you even take out the check book is question yourself, "Am I mentally prepared? Am I willing to have the patience to learn as well as accept small gains over time? Are my goals realistic?" You are going to have days when you don\'t feel like you worked hard, you will make mistakes. That\'s just the reality of it.
