No1mommy

Hey, My name is Martina. I'm 24 yrs old, and have been lifitin for 5 mths. I have been increasing my weight, but have began to notice bruising on my forearms. Is this normal? Also I go to the gym about 5xs a week for 2-3 hrs a day. And although I notice a change in muscle mass. Not to much on the definition side. I have done toning and all the basic things your suppose to. But just not getting the results. What would everyones take be on Thermogenics. Is it worth a try?

gwcaton

Welcome to IM.

Best thing I can tell you is read the stickies in the trainig and diet forums and see how they compare to what you are doing and what your goals are. then post any questions you have in those forums. Also starting a journal is very helpful. Helps you track your progress and you'll get lots of input and support.

Good luck !

My Last Journal Before The One You're Reading Now
Old Journals :
My P/RR/S Journal
My GWcaton Journal
My Bulking Journal

Just remember, when you think you're done you've just started . DEADBOLT . 2005

Pylon

Well, it depends on a lot of factors. How often are you lifting? If you are doing 2-3 hours 5 times a week, you may be overtraining, which will slow your progress. Also, how is your diet? That is the most important piece of cutting. Cardio is important too.

Post your workout program, cardio and diet. You will get lots of feedback. Read the stickies, too. They have lots of great info that will help.

Welcome aboard!

"For beverages, I only drink water or whiskey and when I’m drinking whiskey, it’s usually when I’m working out. It gives me the courage to lift more than I can when I’m sober." - C. Bratton

Egoatdoor

Welcome Martina.

That is not normal and seems odd. Are you sure it is bruising and not just the forearm muscles getting pumped? If its bruising, the only thing I can think of is it could be sign of a circulation problem and you should see your doctor.
5 days a week for that amount of time is too much I think for a relative beginnner. 3-4 days would be much better and shorten the workouts. Obviously I do not know your routine, but if it is taking that long, I suspect you are doing too many exercises. Concentrate on basic compound (those which work multiple bodyparts like bench presses, squats, shoulder presses) movements. Isolation movements like rear delt stuff and tricep kickbacks should be left until you are more advanced and have developed some level of lean muscle.
The lack of results is probably a function of the training, your nutrition or both. It would help us to post both your routine and a sample daily diet as well as your height, weight and body fat % before we can make educated evaluations.

I think thermogenics are good, but bear in mind they are a SUPPLEMENT. They will only work if the rest of your nutrition and training programs are in order. They are not a substitute for a bad diet.

Ripped Fuel by TwinLab is a good starter. Its a reputable brand and is inexpensive. I have been using Cytodyne's Xenadrine NRG for a year and it is excellent, though much more potent than Ripped Fuel. Many women here and on other boards have spoken highly of SAN's Tight.

Prince

No1mommy welcome to IM!

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No1mommy

Thanks for the advice. And what is a sticky? I'm new to forums. And the cpu in general. Ok here is my routine and diet. Me and my children bike or jog to the gym. Then for the first hr. to hr. and a half is cardio. I'll run one day and do some other form of cardio the next. Followed by weight training. Mon. bi's, tri's,forearms, shoulders. Tues- upperback, lower back, the core in general, forearms. Wed- shins- calves, just every muscle group in the leg. Thurs. same as Mon. but do the chest as well. Fri- is kinda everywhere I go on Fri for the kick fit class and core, sometimes yoga. My diet on the other hand consists of bacon and eggs for breakfast, sometimes a lean cuisine. Lunch -- I'll grill cheeseburgers. turkey sandwich's I have pretzels etc...
And dinner we have chicken, steak, salmon, pork chops, baked potatos, veggies. We dont eat out hardly ever. And I never really thought of my diet as bad. I dont like sweets at all. MAYBE once in a while. I am 5'3 and 155 lbs. I have not been on a scale since the beginning of Mar. because I only lost like 7 lbs. So I didn't want to get wrapped up by the whole weight thing. Because that was never my goal. My goal is to be strong. But I would like to see more muscle rather than just feel it. Man that was long will anyone make it to the bottom of this post?? lol. By the way. I work out on my forearms now everyday trying to make them stronger the only time I notice bruising is when I work out my chest. or when my wrist are going back to stabilize the weight. I currently bench 135.

BiggerNstronger

Welcome. "stickys" are particular articles/threads that are commonly discussed and asked about on almost every topic. Click on the diet and nutrition section and the first several threads that come up are "stickied" or constantly at the top of that page as reminders and so they are easy to find....kind of like putting a sticky note at the top of your desk to remind you of something. Good luck.

Egoatdoor

I see some conflict in your goal or goals and how you are going about reaching them. There is a difference between training for strength and bodybuilding. Those training for strength ( powerlifting in the most extreme circumstance) are not concerned with how they look, they train to lift the most weight they can, which often means putting stress on the tendons and joints and much less so on the muscles themselves. Therefore, they will not attain the aesthetic look of a bodybuilder or someone who is looking to improve the look of his or her particular body. Powerlifters and strength trainers also focus on major compound movements and train less frequently than bodybuilders, which is totally unlike what you are doing now.

If you want to "see more muscle" or improve the aesthetic appearance of your body, then training with a focus on solely on strength is not the way to go. So I think you first need to decide what your specific goal or goals actually are before you go further. If it is strength, then I am probably not the best person to advise you as my background and knowledge are all based on the bodybuilding world, which is what I do in my own training.

If it is physique training, then we can continue and my advice here on with be under that assumption.

The current routine, in my opinion, is far too specialized for someone at your stage of training. I think you need to build a base of lean muscle first before delving into a five day split getting into "core" workouts, "shins" and multiple days of training forearms. As I also stated in my previous reply, I think five days is too much and would strongly suggest cutting back to the 3, or at most, 4 days of weight training a week. The focus for now in the workouts should be on basic compound movements, not on isolating or so called "toning" movements.

On cardio, one of the basic tenets that most reputable trainers and books adhere to is that cardio should be done AFTER weight training or on separate days. Building muscle and to a lesser extent burning fat occurs while one is weight training. Doing cardio before weights subtracts from the energy available for weight training. Thus I think the cardio workout in the gym before weight training needs to be eliminated. Riding the bike to the gym would be acceptable if necessary as a kind of "warm up" for training, but do not make it a strenuous ride. I also think the amount of cardio you are doing needs to be cut back and I will get back to this later.

The diet needs work. The breakfast contains fatty foods and proteins, with no carbs. No carbs again for lunch and cheese on the burger every day is adding too much fat to your diet. One of the things many of us know here in these forums that is not published in the main media is that eating three meals a day IS NOT the way to maintain good health and a lean body.

The whole nutrition thing can be very detailed and complicated, so I am going to refer you to two stickies to read on the subject:

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/sh...ad.php?t=21113 (Guide to Cutting, Bulking & Maintenance)

This thread was composed by Jodi, a moderator here and summarizes the basics of a healthy diet, including the need to eat 5-6 small meals a day, not 3 big ones.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=290201

This is from another forum. Read BuffedWildCat's response, which includes some general training guidelines ( including what I said about not doing cardio before weights and why not to overdo and over rely on cardio), plus one of the best summaries on nutrition that I have ever read.

Feel free to follow up with any questions after you have read this.

No1mommy

I'll read everything you had just mentioned. I'm doing things entirely backwards uh? THank you so much. Why didn't I join a forum 5 mths ago?

BiggerNstronger

Welcome.

Egoatdoor

Don't worry about it. At least you get a fresh start now.

A little secret...I wasted TWO YEARS going things a** backwards....

P.S. If you are going to make big changes in your diet, don't feel like you have to do it cold turkey. Make gradual improvements. I read a magazine article that recommended making one change a week, such as the first week, eating 4 meals instead of 3, the second week, cutting back on sodas( if you are drinking sodas) and substituting Crystal Light and water, and so on.