Stay away from all types of isolation movements if you’re starting out.
Stick to the following movements.
1. Bench press - with Flat Barbells
2. Over head Shoulder Press - Bar bell (Don’t use Dumbells until you gain more muscle).
3. Squat
4. Bent over row
5. Lat Pull Downs / Pull Ups
Rep Range 8-12
Higher Rep Range for lower body exercises such as squat and leg press. 12- 25 reps total.
If you have big long muscles, you can shake the muscle with isolation muscles. Exercises like leg extensions or tricep push downs are examples of isolation exercises which don’t build a whole lot of muscle.
Supplements should be taken once you’re 4- 6 months down the line so you know the difference that it is making for you in your routine. Creatine is recommended by most experienced body builders but even this supplement slows down in effectivity after 1 and half to 2 years down the road.
Once you hit a genetic threshold for the amount of muscle you can build, you should be content maintaining the way you look and feel. Keep your perspective and why you started your journey, to look and feel better.
If other goals start to get in the way of that, working out will lose the value that it is adding to your lifestyle, so have perspective and keep an optimistic mentality.
Be happy with what you’ve achieved after 2-3 years of building muscle and don’t rest on your laurels if you want to keep the physique you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
In the beginning, you can expect strength gains to be the highest you’ll ever make in your muscle gaining journey. The first six months of the first year your gains will be week after week month after month, but after the second and third year, you’ll be seeing gains every 4-5 months.