I've been working out for about six months now, and damnit Im not getting any bigger. So Im wondering if something is wrong with the way I do it. One day I do biceps and triceps One day I do shoulders and back One day I do chest. Then I break for one day, or I do some running and abs. Then I mix around my three main days. Any suggestions? ------------------ Fun Police Says: 1. Stupid threads are not FUN! 2. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure are not FUN! 3. Stupid BBS names are not FUN! 4. Conduct yourself in a FUN way! The Fun Police are Watching. Vote for the Rockets & Have FUN or be Assimilated.
what are you eating? how many reps? how many sets? my routine is bis and chest shoulders and tris back and legs rest ------------------ barkley for president
I try to eat healthy. Stay away from burgers, pizza, etc. I do three sets of 10 reps. Increase weight on the second and third set (sometimes) ------------------ Fun Police Says: 1. Stupid threads are not FUN! 2. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure are not FUN! 3. Stupid BBS names are not FUN! 4. Conduct yourself in a FUN way! The Fun Police are Watching. Vote for the Rockets & Have FUN or be Assimilated.
ROckets03, To get bigger you have to increase weight. Once your body is used to the weight you've been lifting for a couple of weeks, go ahead and increase. Sure, you won't be able to do the same number of repetitions that your were used to doing, but work up to it.... then increase again! There is such a thing as "plateauing", but unless you've been seriously lifting for a while, I doubt you've "hit the wall". When you say, "I do biceps and triceps" what exactly do you mean? Does that mean you do three sets of curls and three sets of some sort of tricep extension? If so, then you are not doing enough. If you are only going to work those two small muscle groups, you will have to do at least three different exercises for each one. Why not combine all your exercises (biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, and chest) into one day and do it every other day? This way you can get away with only doing two exercises per muscles group. I also wouldn't start to mix things up until I had been doing them the same way for about four or five cycles. That gives you time to get a routine and then you can switch it up before your body gets too used to it. Give us some more details, and we may be able to give you some more indepth advice. ------------------ I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem. DREAMer's Rocket Page
Here is what I USED to do before I got very lazy: Mon: Chest--3 different exercises Wed: Back and shoulders--3 different exercises. (6 total) Fri: Arms--3 different exercises for bis and tris (6 total) Sun: Legs--squats, leg press, leg curls, leg extensions. All with 3 sets of each exercise. After each workout, I did an "Awesome Abs" class for 15 minutes and the hit the treadmill for 15 minutes. Needless to say, my ass was KICKED after I got out of the gym, but I felt great about myself and I looked pretty damn good to boot. I ate very well for the most part: Lots of high-protein shakes and lots of high protein food like chicken, etc. Protein is a must! I found skipping a day between workouts to be VERY beneficial. Remember to eat high protein foods as well. ------------------ I need a new signature. 302
Make sure to skip a day or two between workouts. Your body needs at least 48 hours to recover to get any results whatsoever. ------------------ My dream job is to be a Houston Rockets towel-boy.
Have you tried the butterfly bench press with two dumbells or bench flies? Do three sets of 8-12 on each exercise. The next day, do regular bench. I would recommend learning more techniques to work more muscles. Get a free membership at gymamerica.com and they have a program that will monitor your progress. You tell them what kind of equipment you have to work with and they will give you scheduled workouts. Oh yeah, and they also show diagrams of how the correct form is. Form is very important. You can injure yourself if you don't use the proper form. For triceps, I recommend bench dips. They seem easy at first but after awhile your triceps start to burn and that's how you know you are getting anywhere. I don't recommend creatine or weight gain b/c from personal experience I think they aren't worth it. They made my blood pressure go up and that in itself is a major downside. I do recommend some multi-vitamins though so you will have more energy and they don't have side-effects. If you have practical stuff like a medicine ball, or a pull up bar, that could help you get cut as well. ------------------
No pain...no gain. If your not pushing yourself and can breeze through 3 sets of 10-12 reps, then your not lifting heavy enough to build muscle. You will only tone muscle in that scenario. Your last reps on your last set should come with some struggle and some pain. Your muscles should be burning like crazy when you finish that last set. If not, then your not doing it right in my opinion. Some variation never hurt, either. I was working my chest, biceps and triceps with 3 or 4 different exercises each. Per chest, these are some of the easier muscles to work out in my opinion. I saw substantial pectoralis muscle growth in a 2-3 month period doing butterflys, inclined bench press, pullovers, etc.. My pecs went from soft to hard as a rock and big. I tribute the bench press and especially the butterflys for that. Of course, if you really want to build big muscles, cut your reps per set down to 6 where it's a real struggle to lift that 5th and 6th rep. Of course, that is a helluva lot harder to do day in and day out but you will see results. One other thing, form is key. You should not be trying to lift the weight as fast as you can to get through the sets. You should be lifting slow, controlled movements. If your bench pressing for example, don't let the barbell fall down to your chest and try and bounce it back up...your cheating yourself if you do this. You should slowly lower the weight and lift the weight. Breathing at the right times is also key. If your form is all wrong, then you run the risk of not only injury but cheating yourself out of the results. If your totally into home gym, I highly recommend a BowFlex even though I had an accident with one. Or go to a regular gym. 3 months on a BowFlex with all the variation in exercises and pushing yourself and...you will become a rock. I know...I've been there. Good luck, Surf ------------------
ROckets03, I suggest you use the following workout plan. You will be grouping your pulling movements into one workout, then doing your pushing movements the next workout(with the exception of legs). In this manner you will avoid over-training, while stimulating comlementary muscle groups in each workout. Also, change the exercises you do every 3-4 weeks and do 1 week of lighter weight and high reps a month to avoid plateauing and injury. Chest, Shoulders and Tris: basically all of your "pushing" movements. If you do 2 barbell movements for chest, do at least one dumbell movement, then alternate the next week. For shoulders alternate dumbell and barbell presses each week. When you do tris, immediately start with your heaviest weight as they will already be stimulated. Back, Traps and Bis: same thing, all of your "pulling" movements. For back I suggest chin-ups, some sort of rows(cable or T-Bar) and at least one other power movement. Shrugs for traps work great. Be sure to warm them up thoroughly to avoid injury. Do one set with a full range of motion then try thisfor the rest of your sets....do not let the weight go past parallel with the floor when lowering the weight. You only need about a 2-3 inch range of motion, top to bottom to make serious gains. Quads, Hamstrings and Calves: Squats are best for working legs(and entire body). If you don't have good form, do hack squats and leg presses. For hams, learn how to do deadlifts. Have someone show you the correct form because it is easy to injure yourself if you don't do them properly. Also do lying leg curls. There are a number of exercises you can do for calves. Just pick one, use strict form and go for it. Mix in a day of rest between each work out or do a 2 on, 1 off, 1 on, 2 off format. If you eat right and get a sufficient amount of rest you WILL make gains with this plan. Don't forget to change the exercises you do every few weeks and mix in a week of light weight and high reps. Also do 20-30 minutes of cardio a few days a week to keep your stamina up. BTW, where do you workout?? ------------------ I am the founding member of the Butt-Nekkid Party! White House here we come!
This is what I started out on earlier in the summer and it has done wonders for me: Mon/Thurs: Chest, Back, Shoulders (Chest and back are 5 sets of 8, shoulders are 4 sets of 8) Superset 1: Bench press and lateral pulldown Superset 2: Incline Dumbbell and Bentover Row Superset 3: Dumbbell Pullover and Seated Row Superset 4: Military Press and Lateral Raises Superset 5: Trap Exercise and Bentover Lateral Raises Tues/Fri: Biceps, Triceps, and Legs Superset 1: 5 of 10 to 2 (Pyramid) Straightbar Curls, 5 of 8 French Curls Superset 2: 5/8 Preacher Curl, 5/8 Tricep extension Superset 3: 5/8 dumbbell curls, 5/8 Overhead Tricep extensions 5 of 10 Leg presses 5 of 8 Leg extensions 5 of 8 Hamstring Retraction Plus crunches and calves all 4 days. After about 2 months or so, switch it up to this. Mon/Thur: Chest, Tricpes, Shoulders 5/8 Bench Press Superset: 5/8 Incline Barbell, 5/8 Barbell pullover (I switched the last one to an decline press, because you increase the chances of a shoulder injury when you do a lot of weight) 5/8 French Curl Superset: 5/8 Tricep Extension, 5/8 Inverse Tricep extension 4/8 Military Press 4/8 Trap exercise (sorry, can't remember the name ) Superset: 4/8 Lateral Raises, 4/8 Bentover Lateral Raises Tues/Fri: Back, Biceps, Legs 5/8 Lateral Pulldown 5/8 Bentover Row 5/8 Seated Row Superset: 5/10-2 Straightbar curl, 5/8 Preacher Curl 5/8 Dumbbell Curls 5/10 Leg presses 5/8 Leg Extensions 5/8 Hamstring Retractions And of course, crunches and calves. Remember to maintain proper form and don't "cheat." If one exercise doesn't feel right, or hurts your joints, don't do it. Find another exercise that works the same muscle that doesn't hurt. As far as food goes, eat A LOT of protein. I find that tuna fish is a good, cheap source of protein, be it gets old REAL quick. This workout requires a lot of dedication to maintain, but if you do, you'll see results in no time. Lord Tree ------------------ I am Jack's raging message.
Oh and another thing, I've used creatine before (specifically the creatine serum, not the powder) and I think it's EXCELLENT in helping you do more in a workout. I haven't used the powder, but I know the serum doesn't have the problems that the powder does. Everyone I know that's used it thinks it is great, too, so if you have money to burn, you might want to try it. Lord Tree ------------------ I am Jack's raging message.
5 sets each...you've got to be kidding. Talking about over doing it. 3 sets is all you should ever need to exhaust your muscles. Why you would want to add 2 more sets on top of that??? Are you training for the world championships? Talking about a workout noone would ever want to do...there is such a thing as too much. If the weight is right, 3 sets is plenty. Okay, I could see adding 1 more set if your not satisfied...but 5? I have to question whether your training with the correct weight for each exercise. One can easily achieve muscle exhaustion with 3 sets. Care to explain why you feel you must do 5 sets per exercise? I think at 5 sets your opening yourself up to a risk of injury by overdoing it(unless your a Lou Ferigno or Arnold Schwarzenegger type). ------------------
I don't care how hard you train R3, no way you are gonna take over the Bob's seasoned vet post numbers. ------------------ I am so exasperated that I could expectorate.
While were on the subject,any insight on fat burning foods.I`ve heard that if you mix certain foods it will help burn fat quicker and actually give you more energy.I`ve been working out for 11 months and I am starting to see results but I would like to drop a few pounds in the process.One last thing,I eat late because of work and I`ve been told that eating after 8pm is very bad......but I think this a old wives tale ------------------
It would be better for you to eat early to fuel your body and metabolism for the entire day. Eating after 8 pm is a problem because your body is shutting down for the day....it is no wives' tale. Eating late will not help you lose weight. It's better for you to eat breakfast and lunch while skipping dinner. Fat burning foods? Umm...stay away from processed foods, cut down the carbs dramatically, and eat lots of protein. If I had worked out for 11 months straight with my routine, I would be thin and strong...no offense. ------------------
This is an interesting topic, but I'm still wondering about one thing. Keep in mind that I'm completely lost on weight lifting issues so questions might sound idiotic. I have to admit that if I ever started doing weights it would only be to look good. I'm 17 and the dates haven't exactly been coming from all angles. It doesn't help that we go to the beach damn often down here. A few years back, I had a bad case of appendicitis which has left me with a huge vertical scar on my stomach. I assume most of you are only familiar with the mild cases where detection is relatively quick. The bottom line is that I want to somehow make the scar less visible, or at least get a good stomach to go with it. That's what I'm looking for. I know that DREAMer is a pretty big guy and I admire how he works out, but I'm wondering whether his workout schedule would be inappropriate for what I'm trying to do. ------------------ Nederland 2002 Qualifying Campaign (Damn those penalties!!!) Houston Rockets Space Center- Not just another ClutchCity.NET clone. We're that and more!
The general consensus is that high reps/low wieght is the way to go to tone muscle. Do a bunch of excercises that work a wide range of muscles while doing a lot of repititions. Also do some sort of cardio excercise (basketball is good ) to help burn fat. Watch what you eat. Etc., etc. Same general stuff. Lord Tree ------------------ I am Jack's raging message.
BarkBoy is right. Generally it's low weights/hi reps to lose weight and tone up, and hi weights/low reps to add mass. ------------------ Falk that Mo Fo!!!
Barkboy?!?! Please don't start the "bark worse than bite" jokes! Lord Tree ------------------ I am Jack's raging message.
How much do you guys bench press? I want to see if Im the strongest guy on this site. ------------------ "I talked about what degenerates they [Mets fans] were, and they proved me right. Just by saying something, I could make them mad enough to go home and slap their moms." John Rocker [This message has been edited by Francis3 (edited September 12, 2000).]
