Back to the gym...

[Chris Luva Luva]

Ok I need some help. I used to frequent the gym 5 days a week with my boy Darrell but kinda stopped going after he passed. So its been about 2 months since I've been.

After I finish this Im heading to the gym but I need some advice on the best type of workout to do. We'd do upper body one day and the lower body and continue to alternate throughout the week. Or should I do a full body workout?

Im going to write down the names of the machines I use and how many reps when I get back. I know that I usually do 3 reps of 10-15 with a weight thats challenging but I can control on my own without a spot.

Also give me some techniques on benchpressing. It seems that you need some balance to keep the bar from moving laterally. I can use the machine that mimics the motion but has the bar on the rail and lift more with it than I can with the free weight.

Oh yea, wuts the best way to bulk up and put on weight. Those of you who know/seen me know that Im skinny. I want to gain some weight but not get slow as a result.

[SkinsChic]

Oh yea, wuts the best way to bulk up and put on weight. Those of you who know/seen me know that Im skinny. I want to gain some weight but not get slow as a result.

Be a woman...over 45 years old....that's how I did it

[Chris Luva Luva]

Oh yea, wuts the best way to bulk up and put on weight. Those of you who know/seen me know that Im skinny. I want to gain some weight but not get slow as a result.

Be a woman...over 45 years old....that's how I did it

I think breasts would slow me did a tad.

Silly me forgot his wallet so I had to drive all the way back home. I'll just pump out 150 pushups today and go tommorow.

[SkinsChic]

LOL true....

Yes...I think you would probably need your wallet. Also if you can remember to take Ginko Baloba - I hear that helps the memory too.

[Chris Luva Luva]

LOL true....

Yes...I think you would probably need your wallet. Also if you can remember to take Ginko Baloba - I hear that helps the memory too.

I need something to help me with that. I really wish I had a better short term memory.

[Fios]

Hey CLL in terms of bulking up, free weights are much better than machines, free weights force your muscle to engage the short and long fibers, machines do not do that. Also, you should look at adding protein shakes to your daily diet.

[DEHog]

Hey CLL in terms of bulking up, free weights are much better than machines, free weights force your muscle to engage the short and long fibers, machines do not do that. Also, you should look at adding protein shakes to your daily diet.

HE's right on CLL get some Whey protien in your shakes!

[Fios]

Hey CLL in terms of bulking up, free weights are much better than machines, free weights force your muscle to engage the short and long fibers, machines do not do that. Also, you should look at adding protein shakes to your daily diet.

HE's right on CLL get some Whey protien in your shakes!

Also, keep in mind, I do not contain any whey protein so don't be eyeing me up.

[Chris Luva Luva]

Hey CLL in terms of bulking up, free weights are much better than machines, free weights force your muscle to engage the short and long fibers, machines do not do that. Also, you should look at adding protein shakes to your daily diet.

HE's right on CLL get some Whey protien in your shakes!

Also, keep in mind, I do not contain any whey protein so don't be eyeing me up.

I really want to keep this out of the smack forum.

Ok. Any kind of lifting in particular? I have good definition throughout my body just no real bulk. I definately want to work on my chest.

[Warmother]

Fios and DE are right you need to increase protein for added bulk. As far as lift's the bench press with more weight and fewer reps help to increase mass. That applys to any lifting. Also when lifting don't just pump out the reps as fast as you can. Try using a 4 count both ways in a lift. It is much harder and your body will hurt, but you should get some good results.
In December I started back to the gym myself. Doing mostly cardio work but I'm beginging to lift again. Only I'm no longer trying to bulk up.

[Fios]

Also, send a PM to my boy Funbunch and ask for his advice, he's very knowledgeable about this type of thing. And tell him he is a midget.

[Chris Luva Luva]

Also, send a PM to my boy Funbunch and ask for his advice, he's very knowledgeable about this type of thing. And tell him he is a midget.

Lol, will do.

How can I become more comfortable with the free weights when bench pressing? I have no faith in my ability to keep the bar from moving laterally. Is that just proof that I need to keep the weight down until I gain control over it? Up and down is no problem, I just seem to waiver with the bar, maybe its nervousnes.

[joebagadonuts]

Chris, for years I've been using a 10-7-5-4-3 system. After warming up with a lighter weight, I'll put enough weight on the bar so that I can get 10 reps up with some difficulty. I'll throw on 10 more pounds, then shoot for 7 reps in the next set. 10 more pounds, then shoot for 5 reps, and so on. After the 3 rep set, I set the weight back to my warm up weight, and burn out, lifting as many reps as I can before my pecs catch on fire. That workout seems to address bulking up (higher weight, lower reps) and definition (lower weight, higher reps) without just jumping right into it. I'd say that the most important thing is to know your body and take it slow. If you push it too hard and hurt yourself, you won't be getting any bigger sittingon the couch. At least, bigger in the way that you want.

As for bar stability, it's just something that comes with time and experience. I'd suggest starting with some lower weights to get accustomed to the bar. I'd also recommend some padded gloves. As for grip, I prefer the thumb behind the bar (on the same side of the bar as the rest of the fingers) but I have seen some people prefer to oppose their thumb, which would give you more bar control.

If you're still wanting more, do some butterflies with dumbells after your bench press. It'll specifically address the pecs, and eventually help you with bar stability on your bench sets.

If it were me, I'd alternate upper body and lower body/back days, with a little cardio thrown in on the upper body days. If you're doing it right, you won't want to work your entire body every day. It'll hurt too much. If you work your upper body well, you won't want to lift anything with your arms on your 'off' day.

[JansenFan]

Call my boy Raffy. He's got a "B-12 shot" that may help.

[Punu]

I have a great way to work out... do like me...
push it, make sure you know your gonna be sore the next day..
if your not sore, you didnt work hard enough.

The reason why I would suggest this particular workout is cuase it has worked so well for me.

There's one particular way of working out your tri that I love.
Get at small bar and do as show in the pic. But when you go back up, come down one rep as if your benching it.
do 10...3 times... I'm telling you, if you push this particular workout very hard twice a week, you will feel and see the differnce.




Then after you do this... get up and put the bar on the bench, grab it so that your stand up straight with the bar in front of you (palms down on the bar, so taht you can see your knuckles) and have your hand a foot apart, now lift it up to your chest and repeat.

[BossHog]

Free weights also hit the muscles better because they don't allow any 'cheating'... especially in the bench press. You can push more weight on the machine because your 'good arm' is doing more work than it can when you're using free weights. You get a much more 'even' workout (thus encouraging symmetry if you care about that kind of thing) with the free weights.




Don't forget to read a book and exercise that muscle in your head a bit too kids.

[Fios]

I'm reading "Theodore Rex," it's long but very good

[NikiH]

I knew you weren't commenting about working out, you can't lift with those arms!

I'm working on balancing all of it. Although lifting is out, I'm trying to get back the cardio work out and walking. And I start my college classes next week. Yikes, a 31 year old college freshman, SCARY!!!

Chris, just a suggestion but they have weighlifting classes in Community College so I'm sure you could find them at most any class. Sign up for one and I bet you'll learn a lot.

[tcwest10]

Maybe switch jobs at UPS and do as the Teamsters do.
Work some. "Manual Labor" is not the President of Mexico, you know.
It's a thing you do.

[Hooligan]

I'm in your shoes. I'm a skinny guy with a fast metabolism. In the last year or so I've done a lot of research and am on my way to putting on the strength and pounds, so here's my take on it if you want:

Sort through the fitness and diet message boards at www.menshealth.com There are a lot of knowledgeable folks there. Also, go to the "Massive Eating" nutrition articles at this site: http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/index.htm Use the calculator at www.fitday.com to figure out your calorie needs.

Basically, when your goal is to put on bulk you have to get plenty of sleep each night, do compound exercises with heavy weight, and EAT.

All the exercise in the world does nothing if you don't get enough calories. Enough calories in your case could easily be up over 3000 or 3500 for gaining. Aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Avoid fatty or overprocessed junk foods. Have chicken, steak, eggs, wheat bread, veggies, yogurt, fish, nuts etc. Read labels, you wouldn't believe how much nutrition is in 1 can of tuna with a little mayo on whole wheat bread!

A good routine to start with is called "Homegrown Muscle" which you can find in the Men's Health site. It starts from the ground up and can take you through the first two years of training. It also includes videos of each exercise performed with perfect form. It's a great tool. If you want to make your own routine, make sure it's full of compound movements, meaning exercises that work large muscle groups. Something like this:

bench press
military press (overhead press)
bent-over rows
dips (between two chairs/tables or use a dip station)
squats
deadlifts
weighted sit-ups
pull-ups (palms facing away
chin-ups (palms facing you)

This workout works all the major groups. You could experiment with splitting it up into upper/lower body days if you want. For me it's easier to give my all with 4 exercises a session than 8 or so. IE:

Workout A: bench, rows, mil press, pull/chin ups
Workout B: Workout squats, deadlifts, sit ups, dips

Mon/Fri A, Wed B. Next week: Mon/Fri B, Wed A.

Or Mon/Thurs A, Tues/Fri B. Mix it up from time to time.


Aim for multiple sets of low-reps and heavy weight (that you can do with proper form), like 5 sets of 5 reps for example. Working your lower body with exercises like squats and deadlifts is important, since they are large muscle groups. The more muscle that gets utilized, the more testosterone is releasead and the more it will help the rest of your body grow. Plus these are "practical" exercises that will give you real-world strength. Deadlifting is also excellent for the shoulders, lower back, forearms, etc.

Don't bother with isolation exercises like curls or tricep extensions, since they will get worked plenty with the presses, dips, and chin-ups (palms facing toward you). If you can't do chin/pull ups, use a chair to boost yourself to the top of the movement and slowly lower yourself down. Eventually you'll be able to do the full movement without assistance.

**Personal aside: I think the amount I can squat/deadlift and the amount of pull-ups I can do are far more important than things like how much I can curl to impress my friends. What will curling ever do for me? Compare that with the ability to pull myself back up if I'm hanging from something like a ladder or my gutters. Compare also to lifting heavy things, or being able to lift a heavy object off of someone or something, or lift and carry a heavy person out of danger. Scoff if you want, but what condition will you be in if it happens? Curls and tricep extensions aren't going to do jack except give you a number to brag with. Compound exersises can make life easier, or even save yours or someone else's. Food for thought. I'm a firefighter, btw.

Remember, think heavy weights and compound movements to work the most muscle possible. You WILL feel it in your biceps after you do chin-ups, in your traps after you do deadlifts, and in your triceps after bench press, military press, and especially dips.

Lastly, REST. 2 or 3 workouts a week can be plenty, maybe 4 if you split upper/lower. Your muscles don't grow when you work out, only when you rest. Lifting properly gives your muscles the stimulus to grow: microscopic damage to the fibers. The muscles then need time to rebuild themselves in response. You can see how working out every day will seriously over-train your body.

As far as cardio, too much is going to suck away those bulking calories. Of course it all depends on your goals. Cardio is good for the heart and lungs, but the trade off is slower weight gain. Rather than running for endurance you may want to try a form of cardio called HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training). It involves a mix of jogging plus sprints which can give you that cardio and muscle-building balance. You can do it on a bike, too. I like running since I have a park nearby.

To address your initial questions: Stick with freeweights. They work all the small stabilizing muscles that don't get used when you perform a restricted motion like you get with a machine. If you're able to lift that weight easily with the barbell, but have trouble keeping it steady, that means the stabilizers are lagging behind. You're risking injury if you keep going. Lower the weight until you can do clean, smooth reps (ie: 2 counts up, 3 down). Gradually increase the weight. Form is the most important thing to avoiding injury and making your workouts actually accomplish anything. Don't rely on momentum to get weight up. Patient and smooth is the way to go.

Notice I didn't mention creatine or supplements. At the most, a multi-vitamin and a post workout drink is recommended. Sugars and protein in liquid form are great after working out. Trust me on this: vanilla whey protein mixed with gatorade powder. Think creamsicle. Just keep track of your calories/protein, don't work out hungry (your body is begging for nutrition, it's bad to make it work harder in this situation!), and get some calories/protein after you exercise.

Hope this helps, be sure to check out the MH forums for a lot of good advice.

Edit: I just noticed how odd my signature looks after this big of a post.

Good luck!

[Chris Luva Luva]

Maybe switch jobs at UPS and do as the Teamsters do.
Work some. "Manual Labor" is not the President of Mexico, you know.
It's a thing you do.

I loaded trailers for 2 years actually. Its a lot of repetition so I just developed even more definition which I have tons of.

Hooligan
Ill read that when I get home.

[floridaskinsfan]

I am little (5'7" and weigh only about 170 pounds). I was 130 pounds in High school (12 years ago) and I could not gain weight. I started powerlifting and eating anything I could fine, then I started making some gains, but kept working out the entire time. The bench press is my best exercise. I have competed in some contests strictly for the bench. The thing with the bench press, to gain is to do low reps as others have said on this board. You can do two different workout plans. 3 on and 1 off. You workout chest and tri's one day, back and bi's, the 2nd day and shoulders and legs on day three, take 1 day rest and start over again. Once you do this for a while though, you don't give your muscles enough time to recover. Now I workout chest on Mondays, back and bi's on Tuesday's, legs on Wednesday's and shoulders and tri's on Thursday's. Then I take 3 days off and start on Monday again.
For the bench, if you want strength (I wanted size and strength but could only put on so much size for my body type - naturally), you need to keep both feet on the ground, flat. While laying down line up your chin under the bar and arch your back as you go back down. This way your shoulder blades and feet are going to be driven down when you lift. Slowly bring the bar down (get a liftoff if needed), barely touch your chest, push it back up and lock it out. I would lift heavy but something like goinmg up in weight each time and doing 2,2,2,2, then come down in weight doing reps of 4,6,8. Once a month I max out and work the sets 5,5,3,2,1 (all going up in weight). this worked for me better than anything else. Since I started working out I have been able really get strong, but consistency is the thing. Take protein like everyone recommends as you will need that to feed your muscles. Let me know if you have any other questions, especially about the bench.

[EA7649]

I use a machine that has a bar and i pull it down behind my neck. it really helos your shoulders and use dumbuls often. I use the 10 8 8 system for benching. I dont know im only in high school i bet other people have more expiernce

[andyjens89]

I heart power cleans

[Chris Luva Luva]

I heart power cleans

Ok, lets try this again but in english this time.