Beginner needs help!!!

hey all, i was surfing around the net and found this site, so far it looks great. i am just begging and was wondering if anyone could throw me a few hints. Because at the moment i know nothing about anything if you get my drift. I am nearly 17, i only weight around 50kg so i am small for my age. I have recenty brought a york home gym (the ones with the cable and the sliding weights) and a 22kg set of dumbells. I have mainly been concentrating on upper body strength, is this ok or sould i be working on all of my body? any little tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
weed (but working on it!)

Welcome to the board weed. Hope your training really takes off. Here are a couple of hints that you might help you in your training:
1. Be consistent. Whatever workout schedule you have chose, make sure to follow it. If you have a choice between doing a workout or hanging with friends, do the workout first. Don't make excuses not to train. If they are real friends they will understand how important this is to you.
2. Don't over train. Your muscle grow after your workout. They need time to recover, so learn to train hard for about an hour each workout, then relax and give your body a chance to repair itself.
3. EAT! That is the fuel to get your body to grow. No matter how hard you workout, if you don't eat more kcals than your body uses you won't see the muscle growth you are looking for. Consume at least 2.2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight.
4. Be patient. It takes time to change your body. Learn to do the work and wait to see the results. You won't be disappointed.

As to your question about working your lower body it is an absolute must. Because your legs are such a large muscle group working them helps to release extra testosterone into your system. That helps you whole body grow.

[crazyhorse]

You can get a great foundation by using a wieght machine and dumbells. I acutally prefer working with dumbells sometimes. It gives me a great workout. Working legs is tough but here is a good reason to start working them now! I have a friend who is 5'5" tall and 200 lbs. He has a great upper body and lousy legs. On leg days there is always an excuse for him to miss the workout. He has a great V shape but instead of it going from his shoulders to his waist it goes all the way from his shoulders to his ankles. When he wears shorts (which is very rare) he looks absolutely ridiculous. He has hugh shoulders, back, chest and arms and nothing to hold him up. It is unfortunate but he gets slammed for it behind his back all the time.

lol about crazy's friend!

thanks, one more question that i thought about, is it better to do more excisers with ligher weights or few excersises with larger weights?

[Ah-nold]

big weights = big muscles

[Steve]

You gotta do those legs, man. If you don't start now, they will also lag behind. Thick legs look authoritive!

I am 16 and look to build mass, mainly strengh, i wrestling and have been thrown around alot!! This needs to stop, any ideas?
Miggs

When you are in the off season Miggs, EAT, EAT, EAT!!!! For your workouts do compound exercises, mainly Bench presses, Squats, and Deadlifts. This work your whole body and will give you tremendous strength. Throw in Power Cleans and grip work to round things out. Only go heavy on these exercises one day per week (3 -5 reps). The rest of the time go with some higher reps (8 - 12), keeping your weight at 60% - 70% of your max. You will be the one throwing people around next year.

Thanks for the help, can i ask how i might target my lower abs for a nice wash board stomach?
Miggs

Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa. You can't just be working your whole upper body, you won't get results. You need to do legs to. Have you ever seen a big time lifter that has a big upper body and chicken legs? NO. Your legs help support your whole frame so if you want a good upper body you will need to build a strong lower body. Squats are whats going to build your lower body. And remember, eat, eat, eat lots of protein if you want to get big.

P.S. check out www.PURELYFITNESS.COM

I also saw you mentioned you abs. You can do all the sit ups you want, your not going to see those abs unless you diet. Seeing your abs has nothing to do with exercizing your abs, its all your body fat % and the only way to get that down is by dieting and doing cardio. Once you see those abs, then you can do the hard hitting ab exercises to tone them up good.

P.S. check out www.PURELYFITNESS.COM