Any lifters/gym people here?

[Dermeister3]

^ body wieght exercises (as i think someone mentioned) are things that move your bodyweight, instead of using dumbbells/barbells.

Pushup, Pull ups, dips, sit ups.

For legs, you can TRY and do 1 leg squats. They are when you stand straight up, grab one leg behind you like youre doing a quad stretch, then lower yourself down like your doing a squat, then come back up. They are VERY hard lol. you can do lunges or (i call them) duck walks to build leg muscle as well.

Whats your usual routines? Do you use complimentary muscle groups? I love pairing chest with tri workouts. doing chest first, you pre exhaust your triceps and stimulate hypertrophy (which is basically swelling of your muscle cells and allowing more blood to flow there) And how many sets/reps are you doing for each exercise. lastly, what are your goals exactly? building muscle, toning, fat loss?

you can try bodybuilding.com for more information as well.

[RondoAcapriccio]

You said you don't do legs.

Your quads and glutes are your biggest and most powerful muscle groups. you need to get on the squat rack and do some squats and deadlifts. You'll put on muscle fast.

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS!!!

If you don't squat or dead lift you DON'T know what a real work out is. Also Legs and Lower back are a LARGE muscle group and increases your testosterone production. If you seriously commit to these muscles you should be able to put on about 10lbs of muscle very quickly. Also a dead lift is a HUGE compound movement that really targets your lower back, forearms, traps, and hammy's / glutes. Make sure to start off low weight and get the form down because you can cause serious damage performing this exercise incorrectly.

Mon- Back (Consist of Deadlift, Weighted Pull up, DB rows, Lat pull down, Shrugs, Bis).. I Really only do compounds.. when I finish off with Bi's I just do a few sets.. I mainly stick to a 5x5 or some other type of pyramid strength program for all my lifts.

Wed - BB Flat Bench, DB Incline bench, Weighted Dips, Tricep Isolations

Fri- Squats, Shoulders.

If you noticed I do back with bis and chest with tris because firstly I do not really dedicate anything to isolations and these are secondary muscle groups that get worked when you do the compound lifts so Its easy to just finish up with some isolations to really get them done.

Also if you are not willing to get your diet in check.... well I don't want to hear you complain in a few months. Diet is probably 60% important and workout intensity is 40%.

I consume around 4-5k calories a day, But I also have to run a mile in 6minutes so I do a lot of cardio.

[Dermeister3]

^i might say diet is even more important. lol

But yes, as he mentioned, legs are huge! (get it..... work out pun. )

Had probably the best leg workout of my lifting life thursday, and boy was it rough. but worth it. feels good man.

[RondoAcapriccio]

^i might say diet is even more important. lol

But yes, as he mentioned, legs are huge! (get it..... work out pun. )

Had probably the best leg workout of my lifting life thursday, and boy was it rough. but worth it. feels good man.

Mention BB.com..


U aware ? lmao. If not...awkward..but feelsgoodman so...

[slaterd]

About the squats and glutes, he's very correct. During highschool I joined the conditioning class, when I started I had extremely weak legs, could barely squat 90lbs 5 times and weighed 110lbs. wet. After 2 months I was able to squat 320lbs and weighed 140. Eventually my legs and glutes' were too strong for my joints and I blew my left knee doing my third set on 350. Those muscles are dangerous because they can get too strong for your skeletal system and you could seriously hurt yourself.

[Killacortes]

Man I remember when I was 190 and I felt hella fat (I'm only 5'8) when I started going to the gym again a was only running about half a mile for warm up. Now about 4 months later I warm up with 2 miles. Or 1 mile running as hard as I can.
I break my workout schedule like this
Monday-shoulders
Tuesday-back
Wednesday-off or strictly cardio
Thursday-chest
Friday-legs
Saturday-cardio
Sunday-off day

I do abs every other day. I like switch it up. One week I'll do 100 sit ups straight then as many leg raises I can till failure. Next week is interval abs like bicycles or crunches.

Diet is definitely the most important. I try to eat 6 meals. Lots of protein shakes. Tuna. Brown rice. Chicken. Bannanas. Eggs. That sorta stuff. As far supplements I take multivitamins with minerals in them. BCAA pills for amino acids. Glutamine powder for post work out and recently just started taking creatine :)

[JeST]

Appreciate the feedback fellas. Definitely going to incorporate more calisthenics, more back, and leg muscle groups. Use to squat back in high school days but stopped for awhile after a knee injury. Been hesitant on going back to it but it's been awhile and I'll feel it out with low weight.

As for reps and sets I usually do 3 or 4 sets with about 8-10reps each set. If I'm maxing then 2 sets with however many reps I can push.

Also if you are not willing to get your diet in check.... well I don't want to hear you complain in a few months. Diet is probably 60% important and workout intensity is 40%.

Not sure where you read this? But Dieting is not a problem. I've dropped 20lbs in about a month and a half without really breaking a sweat. It's my protein intake, or I should say lack of protein intake I need to address. Which I will with Amplified wheyabolic and recovery (unless there's other recommendations I should consider?).

[Slidewayzz]

For legs, you can TRY and do 1 leg squats. They are when you stand straight up, grab one leg behind you like youre doing a quad stretch, then lower yourself down like your doing a squat, then come back up. They are VERY hard lol.

this.

but do them on a balance ball ( the kind thats cut in half). If you add a balance aspect to any workout your doing its huge because you work your core at the same time. Also go find a hill and make friends with it by doing 20 yard sprints. If you've ever seen a competition sprinter you'll notice they are chiseled race horses. Running miles and miles just wears you out.

heres a perfect example i found by googling.

http://www.crossfitoakland.com/archives/2009/06/marathon_runner.html

+1 on the diet factor too. most people are obese because they dont get ALL the proper nutrients so the body gets out of whack and you get overweight. Dont think about it as "stopping" eating chocolate etc. Focus more on STARTING to eat good food and you'll forget about all the bad stuff.

[Sputnik]

I can bench 350+

...true story

[Dermeister3]

It's my protein intake, or I should say lack of protein intake I need to address. Which I will with Amplified wheyabolic and recovery (unless there's other recommendations I should consider?).

most trainers/lifters say you want 1.5x your body weight (lbs) in grams of protein per day. You actually get A LOT more from food than you think. Cheese has a ton, nuts, and most other foods have a good amount. If you want lean, low carb post workout protein, my buddy (workout fanatic, works at vitamin shoppe/gnc) uses Nature's Best Isopure. It's a whey isolate. Absorbs faster, and more concentrated than regular whey. (~35$ 3 pounds)

Whey isolate is considered a middle of the road post workout protein. 90% protein. Hydrolysated whey is considered the best. it's broken down so it absorbs super fast, and there is even less fat than isolate.

After googling the Amplified wheyabolic you mentioned, that looks like costly, but good stuff. (~70$ for 3 pounds) it has both types I mentioned. So that will add fast absorbing protein and no extra fat and crap into your diet, which is great.

if you can find a good, low fat/carb/cost Casein protein supplement to take, look for one as well. Take the Wheybolic right after workout. Then take the casein before bed.

the casein releases slower and over time, so your muscles that you worked so hard for at the gym 5 hours prior, don't feed off nothing while you sleep

edit... time for my casein lol. I take it in a weight gainer, b/c im tryin to get fat! ....ok not really, just need to not blow away in the wind.

[JeST]

Dermeister3, much appreciate it.

[IminDiegoTriick]

My pre work out is Muscle Pharm Assault (Fruit punch)
It's insane. But in the best way works. Gets you all tunnel vision like.

My post work out is Dark Matter (Fruit punch)
Tastes great, first night I tried it, I was sore in the morning, but every other work out following has been soreness free. Stuff works.

A healthy diet of eggs and fish oil, vegetables and everything good, keeps everything at 100%

[Dermeister3]

My pre work out is Muscle Pharm Assault (Fruit punch)
It's insane. But in the best way works. Gets you all tunnel vision like.

My post work out is Dark Matter (Fruit punch)
Tastes great, first night I tried it, I was sore in the morning, but every other work out following has been soreness free. Stuff works.

A healthy diet of eggs and fish oil, vegetables and everything good, keeps everything at 100%

1) Wish creatine didn't dehydrate the shit outta me. I took some Creatine Ethyl Ester in HS, and started getting migraines like every week. It wasnt until i stopped taking it, that the headaches started coming less often. And i was drinking 1.5 gallons of water per day. Still do.

For my pre-workout I have " Lit - Up". No creatine, which is great lol. I dont get the lightning through my veins feel like i did from NO xplode (from BSN) or Jack3d (USP), but its a good picker-upper before the gym .

2) MHP products are delicious. I had their Up your Mass (great weight gainer for the price) and the brownie batter was spot on. A little chalky, but the brownie outweighed it completely. I've had some free samples of Dark Matter, also very easy to drink. No crazy flashy logos on the tubs either, which is so cliche and homo. Recommend their stuff.

[e30e]

My Current Work out (I'm on Phase 3) -

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beginner-to-advanced-bodybuilder-in-12-weeks-phase-1.html

My next work out -

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/6-weeks-to-sick-arms.html

Previous work out

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/animalpak20.htm

I'm taking this:

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/store/super-mega-gainer.html?gclid=CKGf0Omj0a0CFWhjTAodZUHOnQ

I'm 6'5 and 245, my goal is 260 and then cut down to 225-230. My diet is protein heavy but not strict at all, it will be when I cut. I'm also taking a creatine, multi vitamin, and testosterone boosters; nothing crazy. Its going to take a lot of hard work and time.

I find the hardcore cardio/fitness guys silly; while its funny I want to be that big. Its the strength I really want because I will use it at work; where as these crossfit guys who look sick on tv, when do they use the 12 mile bike ride conditioning in life aside from the gym. They don't, so why do so much cardio?

[E30Pedia]

Been working out for 6 years now. The most important thing i have learned is everyones bodies are different. I used to ask really big people for advice, and when i tried their routines, it wouldnt work for me. Your body maybe not react to powerlifting the same way my body does. Also keep in mind, dont work hard, work smart. Always keep your form right, because you can cause a lot of damage to yourself if you dont. Having a smart spotter helps too.

You should try everything until you find out what really works for you. I was strongest at age 19. I weighed 180lbs and squat 405, deadlifted 305 and benched 315. All that heavy lifting fucked up my shoulders. Now i am 22 and i weigh 175lbs. I bench around 290, deadlift around 270, and play a lot of soccer. I cant do much legs because of knee issues. All that heavy lifting took its toll one me. So be smart and dont push yourself too much. Some of these injures will come back at a later age in form of arthritis.

As far as supplements, I didnt take any and still dont. Its the easy way out. I say push your body to your own natural limits, and stay healthy. Some supplements can really do some damage to your health.