Ask me anything relating to lifting weights/workingout.

I'm trying to bulk up at the moment, I've been working out for the past 2 years and kept up a good figure but I want to be able to work with higher weights and get more bulk in me. I'd like to know how I should organize my workout in order to maximize getting bigger because I've always workout to get lean.

So all this is rather new to me because building mass is far different then staying lean, so what's the game plan here? In terms of reps should I light, heavy, very heavy for the weight in a pyramid format, should I mix it up, how should I do my reps, have the same consistent weight?

Thanks for the input
Damian
 
I broke my finger around 5 weeks ago, gotta have the little plastic cast on for another 2-4 weeks and then can't use it for 2 months :o

Anyway, what workout can I concentrate on using just one arm and the rest of my body?
 
I know a guy that is in his late 50's he went to his doctor for age regression therapy.

He is taking testosterone and he is healthier than most 20 year olds. He monitors his hdl and ldl levels and eats high protein, and low carbs. He does aerobics 3 times a week for 30 minutes at a time and he is 5'9 and 218 lbs.

So all I can say is when I am in my 50's I will be looking for the nearest age regression therapy center or a country that allows that sort of thing.

He explained it that as you get older your hormone levels start to drop, and that is what causes all the problems you see in most older people.

In any event I think it best for everyone to exercise and eat right, in the long run it will add years to your life.

The biggest loser is proof of how powerful diet and exercise can be!
 
I understand what your saying, But im still going to have to disagree with you on that. Women will being doing a different workout routine than men.. Men usually build for mass, Thats not what a woman generally wants to do.. Im not trying to flame you, I just want to get my point accross.

"Men usually build for mass". I clearly stated

My point being, (wouldn't be surprised if you still didn't get it by now) that if the lady wanted to tone up, her workout shouldn't be significantly different from the workout of a man WITH SIMILAR GOALS..


Meaning if a woman wants to tone up, her TONING workout shouldn't be much different from the workout of the guy who wants to TONE UP as well (NOT the guy that wants to "build mass").
 
I'm trying to bulk up at the moment, I've been working out for the past 2 years and kept up a good figure but I want to be able to work with higher weights and get more bulk in me. I'd like to know how I should organize my workout in order to maximize getting bigger because I've always workout to get lean.

So all this is rather new to me because building mass is far different then staying lean, so what's the game plan here? In terms of reps should I light, heavy, very heavy for the weight in a pyramid format, should I mix it up, how should I do my reps, have the same consistent weight?

Thanks for the input
Damian
Bulking up is usually easier for most people than cutting down. First the most important thing is your calorie intake and what % of those calories are protein and carbs. Your going to want to get about 2g's of protein per pound of body weight. You HAVE to EAT EAT EAT or you will not bulk up. The mistake I see everybody doing is that they just simply do not eat enoguht. You want to get in anywhere from 3,000-4,500 calories a day. It depends on how fast your metablosim currently is, And How much cardio you will be doing. try starting out at 3,200 calories a day and work your way up until you are not gaing to much fat and mostly muscle. Second thing is, If you want to bulk up FAST than you will gain fat. It happens to everybody, and theres not much you can do about it. You can try to counter-balance it by doing more cardio, But that increases your chance of burning muscle and burning to many calories that your muscles need.

After all the nutrition crap, Working out is the easiest part, It's really diferent for everybody, For a beginner your best bet would be to do pyramid sets, Starting at 12 reps than 10, 8, 6, sometimes 4.
at 12 reps you want it to be kind of like a heavy warm up.
At 6 reps you want to be lifting 90% of the heaviest weight you can. And If your super pumped you can do an extra 4 sets lifitng 95% of your max.
Your going to want to workout 2 groups of muscles a day ususally, For a beginner the average back/bi's chest/tri's etc is a great thing to do, but you dont seem like a beginner I would recomend doing something more advanced and "Fine tuning" your workout to your body and ability.

Like i said, Everybody needs to "fine tune" their workouts because no workout that somebody else wrote down will work perfect for you. You need to figure out yourself what You like best and what works best.

And dont forget, Proper eating habits + 8 hours of sleep= 75% of gaining muscle.
 
WTF, Go to bodybuilding.com

this!

hey xonbonk or whatever you are completly wrong bodybuilding does not mean being massive muscle like iffb those are things that could not be obtained with just training ,im surprised seems like you know nothing ITS FUCKING DREAM OF EVERYONE TO HAVE A SHREDED BODY WITH SOME AMOUNT OF MUSCLE of course as long as you stay natural you won;t be like those guys ,btw a certificate is nothing doesn;t you are qualified and that you know your shit :cool:

this

Firstly: What's with the xonbonk? I don't know you and have never addressed you. So if you wan't to show your imaturity do that elseware or I will flame every post you make on this board.
Secondly: It's not everyones dream to have a shredded body I don't know where you get your statistics from.
Thirdly: passing an exam shows you have a qualified theoretical and practicle knowledge in the given subject. That's why we have them.

who said anything about having a shredded body. when i work out i know full well im working as hard as ronnie coleman training for mr olympia. when bulking i eat up to 6000-7000 calories a day. so why am i not as big as ronnie coleman? because i dont inject myself with a metric tonne of steroids everynight.

just because you train in the same way as somebody else doesnt mean your going to end up looking like them. if you want to put on a decent amount of muscle theres only one way to do it, and thats the same as the biggest guys on the planet (coleman, cutler, jackson etc), just maybe not to the extremes they do. if i wanted to be as big as coleman id take steroids. the rest of my training regime could stay exactly the same....because the way you build muscle is the same, all id be doing would be going one step further.

what im trying to say is whether you want to put on 5 pounds of muscle or 50 pounds of muscle, you take the same path to get there.

you said "It's not everyones dream to have a shredded body I don't know where you get your statistics from." nobody is saying that you have to have a shredded body, they were just detailing how to work out and add a bit of muscle. so somebody posted a workout....... that doesnt mean that if you do that work out your gonna end up a 20stone+ monster. you could take that workout and add as little or as much muscle as you want - either way the path is the same.

i can tell you right now that i was into bodybuilding as hardcore as you can get (apart from competing), but i was completely natural. i work as hard as any of the top bodybuilders out there and i do extremely similar routines, yet i am nowhere near as big as alot of my friends simply because they take steroids (my training partners) - my point being theres only one way to put muscle on and its upto you how far you take it, just because people are telling you how to add muscle and giving help doesnt mean they are telling you to go out and put on 50 pounds - you set your own limits.

its like when girls say "no i dont want to do a set of bicep curls i dont want to end up huge and put loads of muscle on". its laughable. 8 reps isnt gonna do anything. maybe with 5 years of solid work, a perfect diet, lots of steroids they would end up huge, but thats a long way of 8 reps.

"Thirdly: passing an exam shows you have a qualified theoretical and practicle knowledge in the given subject. That's why we have them."

qualifications in health and fitness really do mean jack shit unless your applying for a job maybe. most bodybuilders only qualifications are the muscles on their body and they are plenty enough.

my qualifications are my 18inche biceps (natural, at 5'10, small frame) and my 5% bodyfat. when i talk people they listen because they can see the effects(in real life). if i give a guy advice in my gym he will take one look at me and know that i must be right because im a big guy myself. having a masters degree in sports nutrition and the human body aint gonna make any difference.

Wow, So much different information!

Well I have been into weight training then bodybuilding for 26 years now - I will be 46 years old next month - and can't do without my iron fix. My advice would be to Not follow anyone elses training routine. Everyone is different and wants different things. I see some good advice in this thread and I see some real bs too.

As for poundage..I have absolutely no idea how much I can bench or deadlift as I am never going to seriously train at that limit. That is for powerlifters not weight trainers or bodybuilders. Too many people get hung-up on the "how much weight can you lift" thing.

Anyone with a dislocated shoulder should NO Way be doing 30 rep sets. That is a recipe for disaster. They should get the root of the problem sorted out by a health professional...ie physio or surgeon. I also used to work in an operating theatre/room for both surgical and orthopeadics and I have seen plenty of muscle damage in my time.

Far too many people who say they want to build muscle never will. The reason? Because they are looking for short-cuts. Straight into heavy duty pro workouts or steroids because they can't wait. Never ever take steroids. Never. You can get to the same place (unless you want to compete in the top levels) without it. It just takes a little longer.

Also, don't fk yourself up by over-training and keep it sensible...ie remember that non-lifting days are every bit as important as the lifting days because that is when your body repairs itself....(notice I said days and not day), then you will get what you want if you want it enough to stay the course. Bit like BH'ing.

Read a book on sports nutrition and get an understanding on how the body works then apply that understanding and build a workout for yourself based on what kind of muscle growth you want. Do you want to firm up, do you want to get ripped or do you want to build large muscle mass? All totally different approach.

If you are a beginner, then stick to a beginners routine until you really are ready to progress. A beginners routine is different - it is designed to shock the muscles into growing - and should be followed for around 6-8 weeks before moving on to a proper routine...but like I say, everyone is different.

Just my tuppence worth.

this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
dont forget to thank me if you liked my help/thread :D
 
What exactly does
"this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mean? Are you agreeing with me or disagreeing or what? A little clarity would be nice.

I agree with quite a bit of what you say - because most of it has been said here already - but there is also an underlying tone of frustration going on there too. Sounds like you resent your training partners for taking steroids - or even regret not taking them yourself. Maybe...I dunno and don't really care either.

My arms are also 18 inches - just over I think - but I am just under 14st 8 at 5 foot 8. I know that if I didn't lift for a year or more then they wouldn't be more than 16.

"been well over a year since ive been in the gym though now and muscle dropped off me like shit off a shovel. went from 14.5 stone to 10.5 in a matter of a few months. need to get back in some time"

You are 10.5 stone with 18 inch arms?

Amazing how many people have been "so hard core" then end up by saying " need to get back in sometime"

I smell shite!!
 
hey bro. I have been doing the p90x program from beachbody<cOm for a few days now. And I am really looking to gain muscle mass and get toned. would you reccomend this program for a quick gain in muscle?
Posted via Mobile Device
 
entreprenuer - its a great program as long as you can hack it. Also if you want to help increase your rate of fat loss do some HITT training.

For example when you get up, do 5 min light warmup, then 20 secs as hard as you can, 10 sec break, then 20 secs as hard as you can then 10 sec break. Do that 4 times then have 1 min break. If you do that in the morning then at night before you goto bed, and eat low GI foods along with p90x you will be amazed in 1 month and totally ripped in 3.
 
Gaz256

I apologize unreservedly for my uncalled for and sarcastic comments. I was tired and cranky in the early hours of this morning and thought that you were getting at me. I seemed to get more exclaimation marks than anyone else. (pretty silly way to look at it now I admit)

I was reading, and agreeing, with what you were saying in that post until I saw my quote in there and jumped to the wrong conclusion thinking that you were rubbishing what I was saying. (thing is the whole "don't dare disagree with me thing" as you put it, probably isn't too far from the truth with me sometimes if I am being honest)

The fact is, when I re-read it today, I just couldn't see it the same way as I did last night/this morning. I just saw it completely round the wrong way. You spoke - and speak a lot of sense. Sorry again for any offence I caused mate!

Guess that's the reason I don't post much. I need the edit button to be available for at least 2 hours.

Cheers

A very humble.
Penfish35 :o
 
I've been dirty bulking for the last 3 months and have gain a nice 20 lbs (from 129-149) my trainers have told me to stop around mid november and start leaning out. Should i do this or should i just keep on gaining till end of december and lose it all starting january. reason I ask is of course its christmas, but I can definitely train and still lose fat for sure during this time too but what do you think is more practical, just balloon to be over 160 lbs and trim down in january or trim at 150 mid november which is near december (christmas =eating time)

what do you think?
 
Gaz256

I apologize unreservedly for my uncalled for and sarcastic comments. I was tired and cranky in the early hours of this morning and thought that you were getting at me. I seemed to get more exclaimation marks than anyone else. (pretty silly way to look at it now I admit)

I was reading, and agreeing, with what you were saying in that post until I saw my quote in there and jumped to the wrong conclusion thinking that you were rubbishing what I was saying. (thing is the whole "don't dare disagree with me thing" as you put it, probably isn't too far from the truth with me sometimes if I am being honest)

The fact is, when I re-read it today, I just couldn't see it the same way as I did last night/this morning. I just saw it completely round the wrong way. You spoke - and speak a lot of sense. Sorry again for any offence I caused mate!

Guess that's the reason I don't post much. I need the edit button to be available for at least 2 hours.

Cheers

A very humble.
Penfish35 :o

no problem i completely understand and i appologise if my reply was abit aggressive i do tend to get rather deffensive at times (and it was late lol plus i was in a really bad mood for some reason).

i gave you more exclamation marks because i thought it was a really good post lol. just a little misunderstanding really. looking back on my previous posts in this thread i do come across as being really arrogant and that wasnt my intention at all, my explanations just end up that way sometimes. i struggle to explain fully what i mean and end up writing huge essays for posts. like the post i made yesterday, it was only meant to be a couple of sentences then i realised i didnt do a good job explaining what i meant so i wrote another and another and another....and ended up sounding like a bit of an arse i think after re-reading it.

thanks for the appology and again i appologise for coming off abit aggressive in my reply (and for sounding like an arse in my post before that).

cheers
 
entreprenuer - its a great program as long as you can hack it. Also if you want to help increase your rate of fat loss do some HITT training.

For example when you get up, do 5 min light warmup, then 20 secs as hard as you can, 10 sec break, then 20 secs as hard as you can then 10 sec break. Do that 4 times then have 1 min break. If you do that in the morning then at night before you goto bed, and eat low GI foods along with p90x you will be amazed in 1 month and totally ripped in 3.
sorry to be a stiffler, but you mean HIIT correct?
 
I've been dirty bulking for the last 3 months and have gain a nice 20 lbs (from 129-149) my trainers have told me to stop around mid november and start leaning out. Should i do this or should i just keep on gaining till end of december and lose it all starting january. reason I ask is of course its christmas, but I can definitely train and still lose fat for sure during this time too but what do you think is more practical, just balloon to be over 160 lbs and trim down in january or trim at 150 mid november which is near december (christmas =eating time)

what do you think?

Dirty Bulking???

I think I know what you mean.....


What is your over all weight goal?
 
Is it best to train 2 or 3 days or 5 days a week?

What's the best thing to do to correct pectoral assimetry and incorrect posture?

Do you think kettlebells are better than machines and dumbells?
 
Is it best to train 2 or 3 days or 5 days a week?

What's the best thing to do to correct pectoral assimetry and incorrect posture?

Do you think kettlebells are better than machines and dumbells?
I would say 5 days a week, unless you are insanley slow at recovering.

What do you mean by pectoral assimetry, do you mean gynecomastia?

I think machines suck unless you you really like them, stick to barbell and dumbells.
 
entreprenuer - its a great program as long as you can hack it. Also if you want to help increase your rate of fat loss do some HITT training.

For example when you get up, do 5 min light warmup, then 20 secs as hard as you can, 10 sec break, then 20 secs as hard as you can then 10 sec break. Do that 4 times then have 1 min break. If you do that in the morning then at night before you goto bed, and eat low GI foods along with p90x you will be amazed in 1 month and totally ripped in 3.

Thanks for the tips. I will definitely do as you described.
Also.. what does "GI" stand for?
 
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