Hi all,
I am a complete beginner as I have virtually never lifted a weight in my entire life. I am a tango dancer (semi-professional level), and would like to increase my body weight, in particular the upper part of my body, for aesthetic purposes. Professional tango dancers tend to be shorter and proportionally larger (bulkier) than me. I am rather ectomorph --a bit too tall and thin, I weight 70 Kg for 183 cm high-- so I am considering body-building to look better as I would like to maybe start performing in the next few months.
HST seems to be a good option for me as I am more interested in volume than strength.
I have a few questions. If answers exist in older threads of FAQ, you can simply point them out to me. Many thanks in advance for your comments/answers.
- Some people argue that HST is not good for total beginners, and that a standard linear method is preferable, while others argue the opposite. What do you think, and why? How would you suggest I start if not with HST?
- I am not sure I understand how to measure/calculate my maximum weight for each rep and exercise. Could someone explain to me how to do that, knowing that as I have never touched weights in my life, my max will probably increase every time I touch a machine...
- Concerning the exercises, which ones would you advise? I am interested in gaining volume mainly in the upper part of the body, but I guess it wouldn't do any harm to increase muscle volume on my legs too...
- A question that might seem laughable: is it possible to increase mass by having a vegetarian diet?
- If I train and eat properly, what kind of weight increase can I expect in 6 months, one year and two years? (again, knowing that I am a total beginner).
- Once I reach a mass I am happy about and would like to stay there, what to do? Stopping the training will make me loose muscle, right? Should I keep constant weights and reps?
Many thanks!
Dawei
I am a complete beginner as I have virtually never lifted a weight in my entire life. I am a tango dancer (semi-professional level), and would like to increase my body weight, in particular the upper part of my body, for aesthetic purposes. Professional tango dancers tend to be shorter and proportionally larger (bulkier) than me. I am rather ectomorph --a bit too tall and thin, I weight 70 Kg for 183 cm high-- so I am considering body-building to look better as I would like to maybe start performing in the next few months.
HST seems to be a good option for me as I am more interested in volume than strength.
I have a few questions. If answers exist in older threads of FAQ, you can simply point them out to me. Many thanks in advance for your comments/answers.
- Some people argue that HST is not good for total beginners, and that a standard linear method is preferable, while others argue the opposite. What do you think, and why? How would you suggest I start if not with HST?
- I am not sure I understand how to measure/calculate my maximum weight for each rep and exercise. Could someone explain to me how to do that, knowing that as I have never touched weights in my life, my max will probably increase every time I touch a machine...
- Concerning the exercises, which ones would you advise? I am interested in gaining volume mainly in the upper part of the body, but I guess it wouldn't do any harm to increase muscle volume on my legs too...
- A question that might seem laughable: is it possible to increase mass by having a vegetarian diet?
- If I train and eat properly, what kind of weight increase can I expect in 6 months, one year and two years? (again, knowing that I am a total beginner).
- Once I reach a mass I am happy about and would like to stay there, what to do? Stopping the training will make me loose muscle, right? Should I keep constant weights and reps?
Many thanks!
Dawei