Thread: can some one recommend me the best book out there to help me understand!!!

Well if you want to start out by saving a little money, you can read through the stickies on here and post up what your trying to achieve as well as what your current plan and stats are. Tons of good info and advisors on here. Just a thought.

^x3

Give us a little background info so we can better assist you. How long have you been training? What training methodologies have you followed in the past? Or are you new to the scene? How is your diet? Somatotype? etc etc etc etc etc. You get the picture.

age 20 been training for 2 years but have not had the best results and yes i have given it everything. i have ate, ate and ate some more get 8 hours of sleep, supplement etc. have tried all kinds of programs but nothing seems to work and the thing is i have a bigger build and do not have a fast metabolism, my last bulk program was 5x5, got stronger but not bigger and through hit and miss experience my arms DO NOT GROW from compounds alone and the odd one or two sets for bis or tris dot work

i have taken a little time off and have lost nearly a stone in 2 months or so, have had to organise uni and went on holiday, freshers week at uni etc i am trying to find out my current rep maxes, but am finding it hard as i have got weaker

diet
eggs, banana, weetabix
mince meat and basmati rice
pre shake with supps
post shake with supps
salmon, sweet potatoes, broccoli
chicken, basmati rice, olive oil spinach
cottage cheese and olive oil

and weigh about 80kg haven't got a clued about today fat%

Check out Mark Rippetoe or Bill Pearl 5x5 routines. Pretty much the core of your hypertrophy training.

Also if you want to better quantifiy what you're eating (total cals, macro nutrient breakdown - protein/ fat / carb) check out FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal - great online food counts program.

my last main program was bill stars 5x5, got stronger but not bigger even while putting on half a stone, i got noticeably fatter

Originally Posted by jamfam

my last main program was bill stars 5x5, got stronger but not bigger even while putting on half a stone, i got noticeably fatter

Sometimes it takes a while for the size gain to catch up with the strength gain.If you truly get stronger and not just a compromise in form you should get bigger.

Starting Strength by Rippetoe & Kilgore
and
5/3/1 by Wendler
and
The stickies

Been using this workout with success take a look

http://www.unclez.org/work-out-routines/pushlegspull-routine/

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

nice^

okay from what i read on wendlers its more of a strength routine and i know from perusal expereince strength does not = size gains for me . so i read up that i can do assistance work 5 x10 i believe but i can't find details of this, it seems to be quite vague over the net, can someone help explain to me how i can se up a three day split and send sue sort of spreadsheet like the 5x5 spreadsheet... thanks

i understand the basic idea of a ABCD workout for the main lifts but still need help on what t do for the assistance exercise and a spreadsheet would be really helpful

i was thinking for the assistance exercise
A= squat day
assistance_leg press 4x 20 _ 10 reps, Leg curl 4x 15_10 reps

B=Bench day
_incline dumbell bench press 4x 10_ 20 reps
_dips/pushdowns 4x 8_15 reps

c=deadlift
_chinups 4x 10_15 reps
_cable rows 4x10_15 reps

D= overhead press
_dumbell press 4x10_15reps
_laterial raise 4x10_15reps
_ dumbell curl 4x10_15 reps

why you think?

Originally Posted by jamfam

i understand the basic idea of a ABCD workout for the main lifts but still need help on what t do for the assistance exercise and a spreadsheet would be really helpful

i was thinking for the assistance exercise
A= squat day
assistance_leg press 4x 20 _ 10 reps, Leg curl 4x 15_10 reps

B=Bench day
_incline dumbell bench press 4x 10_ 20 reps
_dips/pushdowns 4x 8_15 reps

c=deadlift
_chinups 4x 10_15 reps
_cable rows 4x10_15 reps

D= overhead press
_dumbell press 4x10_15reps
_laterial raise 4x10_15reps
_ dumbell curl 4x10_15 reps

why you think?

This is more or less the school of thought I still adhere to. When I'm not in my strength training routine, I separate my workouts into movements instead of body parts or exercises. IE: Press Day, Pull Day, Lift Day, and Squat Day. The idea being that for each movement, you are working the same muscle groups (more or less), which should help you avoid over training.

My main lift for the day will always be a heavy compound lift, though not the same one weeks on end. You will plateau much quicker if your main compound lift stays the same for a given day for weeks at a time. If you must, you can keep the same lift, just change up your grip or stance. For example, rock the squat for 2 weeks, then box squat for two, and then sumos for 2, so on and so forth.

Then supplement your main lifts with less compound movements and isolations if you must. Remember though...Isolation movements are for refining and defining. They are supplementary to compounds. Unless you are in your 4th week of training, you will not gain much mass from doing a hundred concentration curls. Instead, smash out some barbell curls, some pronated bent-over rows, then knock out your concentration curls.

Watch the big guys in your gym. You will see them hanging in the squat rack more often than the free-weight section. You will see the same pencil-necked mother fuckers standing in front of a mirror knocking out dumbell curls day after day, not growing the slightest in size.

The idea behind compound exercises is that when the larger muscle groups are stimulated at the same time as smaller ones the body will naturally increase testosterone output as well as gH to put it very simply (not trying to over complicate). The larger the muscle group being targeted, the more hormone output or production. This is why the squat is king. Now when these endogenous hormones are released in your body they travel throughout your bloodstream and are used wherever they are need. Keep in mind that it can take anywhere from 24-72 hours for your muscles to fully recover (rebuild and grow) from a workout. So lets say you hit your biceps extra hard on pull day. You take a day off, then on squat day the hormones that are released under the intensity of a squat (or other heavy compound for that matter) will not only be utilized in your quads glutes and hams, but your biceps that you stimulated for growth 2 days prior, because they are still recovering. Remember, when in doubt, the barbell is the weapon of choice.

This is why all of us are saying, if you want to get big and get results, SQUAT, DEADLIFT, AND BENCH.

You mustn't over train. Im just guessing, but it sounds like you are an ecto if I had to guess. This means you MUST avoid overtaining at all costs, or your fast metabolism will catabolize your muscles like a damn blast furnace! It also means you must eat eat eat. Your metabolism is faster than normal (if my assumptions are correct) so you must mitigate this by eating MORE food than normal. I mean much more. If you are "stuffed" or full 2 hours after your last meal, grab a chicken breast out of the fridge from the lot that you boiled on Sunday for the busy week ahead, and scarf that dead carcass down. There is no protein better than that of dead animal. If you are a vegetarian you are wasting your time. Whey protein is a supplement and should not be your primary source of protein or you will get bloated and pathetic looking. If you are eating/bulking the right way, you will hate food. You will have to force-feed yourself especially toward the end of the day during the first 2 weeks. Don't worry though, the feeling doesn't last forever. You will also notice most of your cravings for rubbish fat-body food disappearing unless you aren't eating semi-clean in which case you will just get fluffy.


Keep your workouts under 45 minutes for starters. If you start yawning, STOP immediately, down your PWO shake, and call it day. Once you build some muscle, you can increase your workout to an hour but no more than that. Your intensity should be so high that you won't be able to last and hour anyway.

Honestly, from my experience with helping non-responders, 90% of the time it was because they weren't eating enough (diet was awful), or they were over-training. It sounds like cookie-cutter advice but it's true.

Once you have successfully grasped and implemented these basics you will notice gains coming on fast! The fastest gains I ever saw were in my first 8 weeks of training. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and I outlined a more intermediate training regimen than a basic one because you claim to have been hitting the gym. Keep it simple, keep the lifts compound and heavy, and don't over-complicate things. I think your mind is on the right track. Try re-formulating your aforementioned routine with some of the principals I laid out, take out some of the mundane isolations, and post it up!

wow thanks for the detailed reply. i choose those assistance exercises as wendler recommends them if you want to add some more mass rather then just strength on his program, plus my arms do not grow from compounds alone, so thats why i added them in there.....

and actually i have a relatively slow metabolism lol but i do eat a shitload of food the right kind of food!

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

Starting Strength by Rippetoe & Kilgore
and
5/3/1 by Wendler
and
The stickies

This

I would recommend you purchase a textbook and read through it. Not the most exciting way to do it, but it will give you a more solid foundation on anatomy and physiology as well. Look at the primary text for the NSCA-CPT or NSCA-CSCS certifications, or some other nationally recognized personal training certification and the suggested text (ACSM, NASM, etc.).

I have heard great things about Starting Strength too, but I haven't read it myself.

thanks for all the advice guys i think i am going to do stares 5x5 to regain my strength that i have lost and then do wendlers