Exercise - Muscle Growth

[ApacheChief]

Sounds great guys

I'll stay out of the mirror for the next 2 months, I'm going to go work out right now.

 

[bradley]

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
In order to have a build like the guy in the top picture you'd definitly need to start eating more and hit the weights hard. Fortunately if that's all you're aiming for, you wouldn't need to "cut down" so much as you would need to just put on muscle. I'm gonna guess and say you'd need at least 30lbs more muscle to have a similar build. I'm just gonna refer you back to my previous posts about diet.

Though, the guy in the picture needs to work on his lats, and bring them up to the rest of his physique. Otherwise not a bad goal to strive for at all.

And from looking at your picture insolence, you definitely have a solid foundation from which to work. However, like everyone else has suggested, you need to intake a lot more quality calories, and stick to very basic movements: curls, bench press, barbell rows, squats, dead lift, military press etc.

Doesn't even look like you need that much cardiovascular work; in fact, your metabolism looks fairly high; although, it couldn't hurt. You would probably benefit most from a four days on, three days off, exercise routine. And remember, developing proper form and posture is just as important as lifting weight... so head straight, shoulders back, stomach in, chest out, posterior out etc.

And I would recommend eventually increasing abdominal work to at least 3x a week. The faster you build up the midsection - or your power base - the quicker the rest of your body will try and follow. The biggest mistake people make is neglecting their midsection (stomach/lower back) or lower body (legs) and concentrate solely on the biceps, and chest... just don't fall into that cycle.

 

[ApacheChief]

Working on legs would be like jogging/biking? I'd love to get out more

I think this will be my routine:
First 4 weeks - Full body work outs every other day, jog on the days off, 2k calories every day, 125 grams of protien
Next 4 weeks - Concentrate on a certain section each day of the week, jog on weekends, 3k calories every day, 200 grams of protien

Think I should lose some of the weight I have first, then try to build over it once I've 'warmed' up I suppose

 

[bradley]

Originally posted by: insolence
Working on legs would be like jogging/biking? I'd love to get out more

Working on legs means falling in love with the squat.

Originally posted by: insolence
I think this will be my routine:
First 4 weeks - Full body work outs every other day, jog on the days off, 2k calories every day, 125 grams of protien
Next 4 weeks - Concentrate on a certain section each day of the week, jog on weekends, 3k calories every day, 200 grams of protien

Think I should lose some of the weight I have first, then try to build over it once I've 'warmed' up I suppose

Dude, no offense, but you're almost rail thin. The last thing you need is too much jogging or biking... like once a week tops. Otherwise increase your caloric intake, and hit those weights... start off light, slow, and steady.

I like the idea of full body workouts to start though. Since you'll be lifting lighter weights at first, it's easy to pack in an entire workout. Working out every other day is even a good idea too; you'll probably make a lot of progress at first. But once you hit a plateau, it definitely makes sense to stagger your workouts, and get more rest.

 

[mehmel]

Originally posted by: insolence
Working on legs would be like jogging/biking? I'd love to get out more

Think I should lose some of the weight I have first, then try to build over it once I've 'warmed' up I suppose

1. No, Squat outside.
2, No, its easier to turn fat into muscle than nothing into muscle.

 

[ApacheChief]

2, No, its easier to turn fat into muscle than nothing into muscle.

Lol. That's good

I'll jog once or twice a week than. I'll try and hit as many possible muscle groups tomorrow.

 

[AbAbber2k]

Well, fat doesn't "transform" into muscle, but after your body uses up any calories you've recently consumed, it starts looking for other places to get energy. Having fat on you means your body doesn't eat your muscle for energy because it can "burn the fat." In other words, if you're naturally skinny, it's harder to build muscle because you have to keep a significant calorie buffer there to keep your body from using the muscle you already have as fuel. Just another reason why we stress the importance of increasing your calorie/protein intake.

 

[superkdogg]

Much more accurate portrayal of the truth.

As far as the failure thing: Once and for all, it depends on other factors. If you can eat as much as you want (protein heavy) and sleep as much as you want, then yes-take all your work sets to failure. This will increase muscular endurance which in turn leads to more reps at heavier weight which lets you increase the weight-it's like building blocks.

If you have limited budget and time constraints that prevent you from sleeping 8-9 hours, then maybe taking 2-3 sets per exercise until you can't get another rep is too much. My opinion is that the body doesn't want to be changed and that it takes hard work to give it the signal that it has to. For that reason, my last set of every exercise (at least-sometimes all the sets depending on feel and strength on a given day) will be to failure, whether that is 2 reps or 14 reps depends on the weight and what phase of my plan I'm at.

You need to develop a feel for you own body to be able to decide for yourself what works. The only way to do this is to get in the gym regularly for a few months straight and try a few different workouts. Many of the different routines in this thread will work and most work very well.

 

[AbAbber2k]

Originally posted by: superkdogg
You need to develop a feel for you own body to be able to decide for yourself what works.

Excellent advice. One person's routine might not work for another. It's like SkinnyGuy vs. FatGuy. The both want to look the same, but they're gonna need vastly different routines to achive the same results and you won't know how your own body responds until you figure it out for yourself.

 

[element]

so how much time do you wait between sets?

I've heard 3-4 minutes, and other times have heard 1-2 minutes. would it matter lets say if you waited 4 minutes or 8 minutes? either way your muscles are almost back up to doing a full set capability right?

 

[superkdogg]

Time between sets can be varied for your needs. It's one of the variables to manipulate the intensity of your workouts. With my strategy, I rest 1-2 minutes during the high-rep stages and 3-4 during the low rep stages (you'll need to read my earlier posts to know what I'm talking about). This is useful for me because I am working on building muscular endurance with higher reps so less rest contributes to the cause. By the same token, short rests between 300 lb. bench press sets would be counter productive because I may get 6 the first set and 2 the next and then zero. With more rest, you recover more of the raw strength needed for heavy sets.

Once again, this is a personal choice based on goals, workout type, and body type. Also, what is the best rest interval one day may change in a week or a month based on your progress. It's a vague answer, but the truth is not easy to come by in this field or this thread wouldn't be needed.

 

[everman]

Very interesting thread. :thumbsup:

 

[Sunner]

I'll admit I didn't read everything between my last post and here, so if this has been answered, ignore me

So, as far as changing routines goes, how would one go about doing that?
In a normal week, I tend to work out 5 days, resting during the weekend.
For a few reasons, I can't really work much on my legs, so these 5 times pretty much cover the major muscle groups, so unless just changing the order of the various groups counts as changing routines, I don't really know how I would go about that?

 

[AbAbber2k]

Switching up the order is a good start. For instance... i usually do dumbell presses before i do dips, but yesturday i switched them around... I was able to do more dips than usual but dumbell press killed me and i was more sore than usual this morning.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
Switching up the order is a good start. For instance... i usually do dumbell presses before i do dips, but yesturday i switched them around... I was able to do more dips than usual but dumbell press killed me and i was more sore than usual this morning.

Thanks for the tip, I thought of that but didn't think it would be that simple, things rarely are.
Not that I understand the workout lingo in English, it's hard enough in Swedish, but I get the general idea

 

[Gibsons]

Another thing to add some variety to your workout is you can change your grip slightly between sets. ie, when you do three sets of bench press, you make small changes in how far apart your hands are for each set. Don't go so far as to compromise your technique though.

 

[superkdogg]

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
Switching up the order is a good start. For instance... i usually do dumbell presses before i do dips, but yesturday i switched them around... I was able to do more dips than usual but dumbell press killed me and i was more sore than usual this morning.

That's one way, so is changing grips, so is changing set/rep schemes, weight used, actual exercises done, time of day that you workout, warm-up exercises, rest time between sets, workout partners, place you're working out, music, etc.

Any and all of these are variations you can try-there are also more. Some will have little effect on your workout, some huge and some combinations will change your workout entirely.

Some of the smaller ones won't really affect your workout much, but can help you avoid burning out and help you to stay intense if you're getting bored.

 

[venk]

Originally posted by: Epimetreus
Fascinating thread. I don't have access to a gym, but I hope to find a way to put some of this info to use with my own improvised routines.

Do any of you have advice for someone who is, at the moment, pretty out of shape and hasn't access to a gym or weights? I'm trying to come up with a regimen that is going to actually help me, won't cost money(I am _BROKE_), and won't make me so sore the next morning that I can't do anything. Any advice on how to get back into shape and gain some strength is appreciated.

Think High School Gym Class. Running (Google couch to 5K), Push ups and Sit ups.

 

[imported_Mitchell]

"AbAbber, I myself am in the U.S. Marine Corps, and while I'm not a personal trainer or fitness expert, our Physical Training (PT) we undergo everyday pretty much stipulates push till failure. Whether it be pull-ups, crunches, or runs. Even in the gym we lift with greater weight/less reps and lift till failure (Usually 3 sets of 10). Give it a days rest then hit that muscle group again. I wouldn't advise running, crunching and pulling up till you puke and pass out from dehydration (Like I almost feel like sometimes) but you should definately feel it the next day. If not, you didn't push yourself hard enough. Just my two cents. Hope that helps. "

I agree, nothing works better for sustained growth. Though cardio should be put in at some point in the future or you will be this big muscled dude that can't run 100 feet without passing out

 

[imported_Mitchell]

I also might add a good routine I have found for those that are out of shape and want to start the process of rebulding your body structure.

10 minute tredmill walk (if your tread has a fat burning scale use that, do NOT do cardio) this isn't for cardio. It is simply to warm the muscles up and get fluid in the joints.

Work on a specific portion of the body.
1. upper one day
2. lower the next.
3. core the next then repeat

Work all muscle groups partaining to the upper and lower and core bodies, not just tripecs etc.

Keep your reps to 3 sets of 10-12. Work with a weight that is comfortable the first set. Then increase the weight a bar (or 2) and repeat for the 2nd and 3rd set. By the third set it should be difficult to finish the set of 10.

Cool down for 1-2 minutes between each set.

Drink lots of water.

Once your muscle groups are finished go back to the tredmill and do another 10 minutes of light walking (lower heart beats) this is simply a cooling down feature for the muscles. It also helps flush out the toxins created from the lifting.

Repeat daily and you should be set. With this routine you can increase the max weight every week or two of the set weight. Also remember when trying to build definition and reduce weight cardio is not the way to do it. You want to build muscle fibers that burn calories when you are just sitting, cardio doesn't do that.

Ever wonder why marathon runners are so skinny and sickly looking? Cause they burn all their muscle instead of building it and must keep that cardio at a certain level or turn into wierd globs of fat.

I lost 210 lbs doing the above routine, 1 hour a night 5-6 nights a week.

 

[superkdogg]

You lost how much!!?? Was that a typo, or are you Jared in disguise! LOL. Seriously if you lost 210 then you are the MAN!! Great work. If it was a typo then you're not the man & I retract that.

Water was one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet. It's like, important and stuff. My boss when I was a PT (he had a few certifications and trained John Travolta for Swordfish-I believe that was right after Michael, so not a small feat) said, "If you ain't drinkin' a gallon, you ain't drinkin' enough." I don't know how feasible that is for most, but yep muscles are almost all water and fat doesn't have much water at all. Basically your body will get rid of any excess, but it also stores the right amount in your muscles.

The one thing that I would disagree with is that the sets and reps do need to be varied with time. Anybody who doesn't think so either has never tried the same routine for 6 months and seen the results decrease at about 4 months or trains in a way that I'm not familiar with. Maybe if every 2-3 months you took 2 weeks off or something like that, but otherwise I am strongly advocating laying out a plan that varies the routine by altering sets and reps.

Also, as a member of the USMC, it's important for you to have muscular endurance whereas nobody in battle (God forbid) is gonna ask you your 1RM in the bench press. I'm sure that has something to do with how you fellas train.

 

[disruptorsignals]

superkdogg or whoever knows I have been working out for like 8 months and from the start I was gaining strength and size pretty fast, but for the last 2 and a half months I have made no significant gains despite working out consistently. I have been on a hypertrophy phase of a work out system for about 3 months and according to the plan shouldn't move out yet, but I feel like I have peaked the phase and I am getting no results. Should I cycle on to over come this you think or follow the plan closely? I also feel for my size I should be lifting more weights is this because the hypertrophy phase has caused muscle gains but no major strength increase and the other cycles will? The system I am doing is pretty similiar to the one you recommened with the hypertrophy cycle first, followed by a strength cycle, and another cycle with less reps and more weight(I can't remember the name of this cycle). thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

[mehmel]

Originally posted by: disruptorsignals
superkdogg or whoever knows I have been working out for like 8 months and from the start I was gaining strength and size pretty fast, but for the last 2 and a half months I have made no significant gains despite working out consistently. I have been on a hypertrophy phase of a work out system for about 3 months and according to the plan shouldn't move out yet, but I feel like I have peaked the phase and I am getting no results. Should I cycle on to over come this you think or follow the plan closely? I also feel for my size I should be lifting more weights is this because the hypertrophy phase has caused muscle gains but no major strength increase and the other cycles will? The system I am doing is pretty similiar to the one you recommened with the hypertrophy cycle first, followed by a strength cycle, and another cycle with less reps and more weight(I can't remember the name of this cycle). thanks for any help or suggestions.

That's pretty typical. At first no matter what you do your going to make fast gains. If your looking for something new, trying any of the things mentioned in the above posts like changing the time of day you lift, workout schedule, etc.
By cycle on do you mean cycle steroids or cycle on to the next portion of your workout plan?
If you feel you should be lifting more for your size then concentrate on strength work as your main exercise and focus on hypertrophy work afterwards. Something like this: Bench for a 3-5 rep max, followed by pushdowns (8-12 reps), Lat Pulldowns (8-12 Reps), Biceps, etc.
You're still pretty new to this so minor changes should help you tremendously. You might not even have to change your workouts, just focus on lower reps/ higher weight for your first exercise and higher reps for your 2nd, 3rd, etc exercises. Also, EAT MORE. If you eat a lot your going to get big, but eat clean. Hope this helps.

 

[Genx87]

I've always been told to do every muscle group, then rest a day.

This is the rotation we did for football.

Day 1: Bench\Squat-We had other excercises in there as warmups and to build the supporting muscles. But the core was bench\squat
Day 2: Cleans

Day 3: Bench\Squat
Day 4: Cleans

Mon\Tues Thurs\Fri were the days we worked out.

 

[evilbix]

bodybuilding.com would explain it better than I ever could. But if you push yourself 100% of the time your body will deplete a lot of nutrients. ways to prevent that are to take multivitamins geared towards lifters, creatine, glutamine, and drink lots and lots of water. lets also not forget about at least a protien shake a day.

if you did all that you can train rediculously hard, but it's expensive and I'm large/strong enough to have absolutely no need to get bigger.