Hi guys, I am very very new bodybuilding and I apologise in advanced if I am asking stupid questions.

As a beginner with little to no relevant knowledge, I stumbled upon Scott's 20min home workout [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJGG0IGMusc], and thought that it would be a good place to start as I am embarassed to go to a gym and having to ask much bigger guys to share machines as they look at me stumble and fail to use them properly. I thought of building up strength first before going to a gym as gyms in my area are small and machines are limited. I do not think I would be able to slowly experiement and learn how to use the various exercises. Even then, having to remove many plates off so that I can attempt a lighter weight when benching or doing other similar execises would bother much bigger guys than me affecting their routine/exercise. 

I started attempting the 20mins workout at home and it really pushed me to the limits and I feel I am getting stronger by the day. I am really grateful for the routine and all the videos posted by Scott for giving me the motivation to start. By no means am I saying I am big or I am strong but it really gave me a small confidence boost seeing myself give up halfway when I first started to now, being able to complete the entire 20mins workout. I am a really skinny guy but I hope that one day this can change. Here are some of my information

Age: 19

Current Weight: 136.687

Height: 5ft 8inch

Body fat: 11.9%

BMR 1496

There are a couple of questions I really want to ask but here are the main ones.

1) Is it better to just train 1 major muscle group such as chest or back, or multiple small muscle group biceps + triceps in a workout or is it better to train alot of muscle group in 1 workout such as the 20mins workout I am following?

This is because one of my friend, a more experienced gymmer told me that if you train multiple muscle groups at one, your body would get confused and you would recover slower or not gain as much muscle. 

Should I follow workouts such as videos from the skinny/hardgainer series instead? [https://www.youtube.com/watchv=Hs89sV7mQLs&list=LLM5iomyVJ8H1atJvWD71pMQ&index=3]

2) How should I proceed from here, should I continue my home training or is it a must to train at a gym if I want to continue seeing growth? 

3) If I have to train at a gym, are there any other exercises that can replace benchpress or deadlifts?  

Thanks so much for the help and I really apologise if I am asking stupid questions. All of this are just very new to me but I hope to learn as much as possible. Thanks :)

I will give you my advice in relation to your questions. The bottom line is EVERYONE starts small and weak - even the big muscle heads at the gym. What is more important is you have decided to make the effort to change your physique and get into fitness so I commend you for that:

1) As a beginner, it is best to train multiple muscles at once - especially compound movements like squats, deadlifts, benching, pull-ups, dips, curls, rows, etc. The body works and adapts as a complete unit not individual parts. Your "friends" advice is just an example of how much mis-information and stupidity exists even with seasoned lifters. Your body does not get "confused" and if his logic was accurate your body would never be able to leave the house and do any movements because all that muscle movement and strain would confuse it. Recovery is 100% dependent on the amount and quality of the food you eat and getting enough rest - not how many muscles you train at once. The benefit of multi-muscle training for beginners is you start to form the mind-muscle connection so critical to training muscles effectively as well as you will build a solid base of muscle and strength to "fine tune" later as you have more experience and your physique has matured.

2) Do whatever makes you most comfortable. The biggest short-circuit to a training regimen is lack of consistency. If you feel you will be more consistent training at home, then train at home. If you can overcome some of your fears about working out at a gym, then go the gym route. The one advantage of the gym is you will have access to much more equipment than you currently have at home. I would not concern yourself about other people at the gym. The equipment is there for everyone's use and everyone is at different experience levels so the amount of plates used or not used is irrelevant. You may actually find some experienced lifters that will take the time to help you if asked. I know I do this as I think weightlifting is something everyone should experience and I have no problem sharing my experience and advice if asked.

3) The benchpress and deadlifts are 2 of the 3 (squats being the third) most important compound lifts required to build a solid physique and a solid layer of muscle. There are different variations of them - using dumbells instead of barbells, for instance - but they should not be replaced. I assume you have no existing injuries with your back, knees, hips, or shoulders that would preclude you from doing these exercises. If your aversion is simply because you are embarassed about the amount of weight you can lift, don't let that stop you. When I first started lifting, I could barely lift the bar alone with no plates. At the end of the day, you are lifting for yourself and your own goals not those of other people. If you let other people determine what physique you can or can't have and how or where you lift, then they will be the only ones experiencing physique changes :-)

John

No such thing as stupid questions, the fact that you want to do things the right way is a great start.

Don't worry, when I started almost 2 years ago I was about your weight and struggled to balance the barbell without plates but I just went in and did my thing until I started gaining confidence.

1) Your friend is the classic bro-science example, you'll find them at every gym (and online) lol. I started reading articles from different sites including Scott's to make my own conclusions and then tried and re-assesed and kept the things that worked, so I could base off facts when posting a reply. For recovery a good diet, meal timing and adequate rest is enough.

Like John said, basically get good at the "big lifts"/ compound movements in form and technique don't mind the weight yet, we all started there. You can try perhaps a full body workout consisting of those lifts mainly (I believe Scott has some can't remember and also Buff Dudes have some beginner videos on YT) . Then as you get things going and get the hang of it later on you can try an upper body/lower body split. For the natural trainee frequency is very important.

2) If you are a bit uncomfortable at the gym I'd say that you can keep the home workouts but also go to gym and start getting the hang of things even if you don't hit a full session yet, you'd be amazed how helpful some of the big guys can be lol. Once you're comfortable you'll get those full sessions 💪 

3) Those are part of the main lifts in bodybuilding (although I prefer to flat bench with dumbells), so they are kind of hard to replace. Don't worry about it, I didn't use any plates the first week

Hope it helps

A.

Your questions were already answered so instead I'm going to respond to your comments in the first paragraph.

Never be embarrassed to go to the gym. No one starts out big and muscular. I'm probably one of the skinnier guys at my gym and yes, at first it was a bit uncomfortable. But after a few days I realized I had just as much right to be there as anyone else.

Don't worry about not using machines properly...most of them are easy to use. Try to use as few machines as possible anyway...stick to freeweights and cables. If you do need to use one and are unsure how, most people at the gym try to help eachother out so just ask someone. And if there is that one guy who watches you misuse a machine, you'll get the last laugh once you're experienced enough to realize he's using improper form and doing all of his exercises wrong.

As for your comment about not wanting to affect bigger guys' routines...that's absolute nonsense. You pay to be there just like they do and have as much a right to use the equipment as everyone else. Big guys don't own the gym. Let me repeat that. Big guys don't own the gym. You use whatever weight you're comfortable using and don't worry about anyone else. The equipment is there for everyone, big and small.

This topic got me worked up as I have personal experience with this. Once at the gym I was using 10-15lb dumbbells in an area where the super heavy dumbbells were. A meat-head came over and said this is where the heavy weights are and I should go do my exercise somewhere else. I was still pretty new so like an idiot I said ok. If this were to happen today I would say get over it and continue with my workout. Luckily most people aren't like this so don't worry, and don't be afraid of going to the gym.