steve623

I'm a pretty average 24 year old guy. I'm 5'10", 175 lbs. I'm not fat by any means, but I'm definitely pretty doughy and not that strong. I'd say I can max 215 on the bench, squat about 225 tops.

I just want to look and feel better, but I'm struggling with what I need to do here. I am a casual gym goer, 3-5 times a week since college, with the occasional break. As I said, I'm kind of doughy, with no real ab definition, and little definition in my shoulders, chest & arms. Should I be striving to get stronger and make big gains, or should I be trying to cut back and do a bunch of cardio. I'm afraid of losing too much weight and being a scrawny 160-165 lb guy, but do I need to get there before I can look better at 175-180?

I don't care about being the biggest or most cut guy at the gym, but I want to look a whole lot better.

Any help would be great, thanks!

Gazhole

Both weight training and cardio should be included in some form in any fitness program IMO. Diet control is more important than both though in putting on or losing weight.

3 times a week is fine, trust me - if your program is setup right itll be more than enough.

My advice would be to take a look at the stickies in training and nutrition forums, most of the advice people will give you on designing a training and diet plan is contained in those.

Put something together using the info there and post it up so people can help you iron out the kinks.

Welcome to IM also

http://sdatrainingprograms.blogspot.com - Updated 25/04/08

NFOMan

I agree with Gazhole. You first of all need to determine your goals. Bulk? Strengh? Energy? All have diferent weight training. I, too, don't train for the body contests, but rather want to concentrate on strength and agility. If you have different goals, then your program will be different.

But -- your goals drive your training program. Tell us more about your goals.

Irons77

Up to you on where to start. We are here to help.

Welcome to IM

Soreness is weakness exiting the body.

muscleshock

What you need is good training/nutrition/supplement plan. To make that you need to learn why and not just what. To start with try to have 5-6 meals per day. 3-4 regular meals and the rest can be protein shakes. Take 1g of protein and 2,5g of carbs per pound of bodyweight. Eat lots of fiber. Take 1000mg L-carnitine before workout and before going to bed. Make a habit of having high protein/high carbo meal before workout and protein shake right after the workout. Train hard!
NO and creatine products can help. I personally take Universal Storm as pre-workout and BSN Syntha-6 as post workout. If you want more power and recovery try adding Nutrabolics HydroTest as preworkout supplement. Find the rep range that's right for you. Usually 8-12 works fine for mass building, but everyone is different. Also don't stick to one routine for more than 4-6 weeks. Once in a while add powerlifting routine and olympic lifts such as snatch, clean and jerk and push press for a week or two. Remember volume builds big mass! Low reps build strength. Olympic lifts build explosive power. As for cardio I recommend skipping. It's great for stamina and it also builds calves. Take multivitamines and minerals.
When training for mass do big mass builders such as squats, bench presses, dead lifts, dips, close-grip presses, ez curls, chins, military press, barbell bent over rows etc. Choose 2-3 big mass builders for each muscle group and do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. Listen to your body and keep track of results until you find whats best for you. But remember even the best routine is only good for so long. If you stay with same routine for more than 6 weeks it will stop working! You've got to change things around to shock muscles all over again. It's all about shocking your muscles again and again.

Godd luck!