Thread: help with lifting routine =D

Oooh, I'm not a fan of many of these movements - btn pulldowns and upright rows, for instance. Too much machine work IMO.

Are you lifting now? And how much food are you eating?

ive been going maybe a couple of times a week for past month...so nothing really. im not loosing or gaining. i usually eat a protein shake a day about 40g. i eat a lot of pb and j. i do eat out maybe once every couple of days and i dont eat overly a lot a lot of chips and stuff too.

I agree with Built, I have a lot of 'problems' with that routine... but, mass gains will be dictated by your food intake more than anything else.

oh ive also been taking animal pak. you prolly kno what that is just about 11 vitamins i take 30min before workout and on off days. keeps me feeling energetic

Originally Posted by n1ghtl1fe

ive been going maybe a couple of times a week for past month...so nothing really. im not loosing or gaining. i usually eat a protein shake a day about 40g. i eat a lot of pb and j. i do eat out maybe once every couple of days and i dont eat overly a lot a lot of chips and stuff too.

Are you doing the big compound lifts - free squats, deadlifts, bench press, chinups… and do you know how many calories you are eating?

If the answer is no to these, well, I'm glad you're here. We'll get you straightened up soon.

FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal to track your intake. After a few days, take an average. If you don’t gain, increase by 500 calories. If you still don't gain, increase it again.

dunno if you've read it or not yet, but check this out:
10 Things You Must Do to Gain Muscle Mass!

i was just reading that 10 things to gain mass thing ha. but yea i dont kno how much calories i eat it varies day to day. some days i eat 3 meals done. then others ill eat 3 meals and snake very frequently. only one of those ive been doing is bench. as dumb as it sounds when im at the gym i try to do the exercise that i am better at and squatting and dead lifts aren't those.

Do you think you are going to gain weight from the right lifting routine, or from how many calories you consume?

PS deads and squats do a body good.

both =D? im not 100% sure thats why im here. im willing to max on pb and j if thats what i gotta do.

Nope. 100% of your weight gain is from the food you eat.

The iron has no magical, telepathic mass-adding properties.

fitday. Then we talk training. Okay? [/tough love]

aww but fitday doesnt even have italian subs in it...

Then stay skinny.

Listen, in all seriousness, there's a REASON why most people don't look like bodybuilders, okay? It's inconvenient.

Just do it. Trust me.

ok how long you want me to track my food intake for? and just food intake right or other stuff too?

What do you think?

ive been filling it out. im going to gym today so i guess im gonna do day 2 of that workout until you kno my calorie intake

ok so i consumed about 2600 calories yesturday...not too much. today so far has been about 1800 and its prolly gonna be around the same. your telling me i need to increase that by 500 calories to see some gains? cuz i can do that. ill just max on pb and j sandwich's and egg sandwich's. can we please figure me a workout now? i dont really do any cardio because everyone says it reduces muscle. i just want pure lifting.

Cardio only reduces muscle mass if you do it for too long and too often, like those people who do 2 hours 3 days a week.

20 minutes after a workout once or twice a week is great for general fitness, and a healthier body will be able to perform more efficiently, and thus get you more results.

As for a lifting program, have you read the stickies on designing a workout routine yet? They are invaluble.

But 100% agree with Built, you need to watch what you eat as thats where all the gains will stem from.

Absolutely.

Something a lot of people forget is that your body isn't a collection of individual, unrelated parts. Endurance athletes who eschew resistance training do so to their detriment, and the same can be said of strength-athletes who ignore the conditioning they can obtain by the addition of a small amount of cardiovascular activity.

We're not talking marathon running sessions here, but a 10-20 minute incline walk after your workout, or some recreational activity outside the gym, will only enhance your strength and physique goals.

Think of it this way: low-rep training is great for stimulating the sarcomere - the contractile portion of the muscle that makes it strong -but does little to enhance blood flow to the area. Occasionally tossing in a bout of higher-rep work or a little moderate cardio promotes capillary density, so your body becomes better at clearing metabolites and feeding those big juicy muscles long after the workout is done. Besides, lifting does have a cardio component. Don't believe me? Try some 20-rep breathing squats sometime.

The greater your work capacity, the harder you'll be able to train. If you're worried you'll burn off a ton of calories doing cardio, don't. A post-workout 20-minute walk while you knock back your shake burns so few calories, it's almost not worth mentioning. Quite in fact, the moderate activity of walking after eating your post-workout carbs can actually enhance your body's glucose disposal by activating these cool little dealies called "glucose transporters" - a trick this old, insulin-resistant former-fatty takes advantage of for carbups.

ok, so as far as a mass building routine goes any suggestions? id like to workout tomorrow and start something new. im definatley increasing calorie intake and i usually get a good 20 min in walking when i take my dog out.

You don't really have a plan right now, correct?

Why not just do a basic full-body workout to get started?

3x5-8 of the following, 3x a week:

Squats
RDLs
Chins
Dumbbell shoulder press or Arnold press
Low incline or flat bench
T-bar rows or one-arm dumbbell rows or bent over rows
Weighted crunches

Follow this with 10-20 minutes of fast incline walking, use only free weights, learn proper form. In a month or two, move into a split routine.

you think ill add some size just doing a basic workout like that? i also dont kno what RDLs arnold press t-bar rows are...=D

Originally Posted by n1ghtl1fe

you think ill add some size just doing a basic workout like that? i also dont kno what RDLs arnold press t-bar rows are...=D

Basic is good. They're all compound movements, and cover all the bases that you need to train, so to speak. The program may be simple, but if you've been doing more complicated workouts so far and havent gained enough mass perhaps its a good thing?


RDLs = Romanian Deadlifts, like a Straight Leg Deadlift but with a bend in the knee. You deadlift the weight, but your legs only move at the hip, your knees stay in the same position.

Arnold Press - Like an overhead dumbell press but you twist your hands as you push up. Your palms start out facing you, at the top of the rep they are facing away, then they are facing you again at the bottom.

TBar Rows - tough to explain. Look at T-Bar Row (Corner) » Lats » Exercise Encyclopedia » Videos » CoopersGuns Health, Fitness & BodyBuilding this. Basically you get the t-shaped lat pulldown handle and wrap it around the bar.

ok i am officially starting that workout saturday. i lifted yesturday and i work almost all day friday so saturday i should feel good to go to start something new. ill do that 3 days a week. ill let you kno how it goes thanks so much for all your help

oh and how long should i rest between sets?