For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

[55]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

As far as gaining muscle goes, I work out with 25 lb. dumbbells every other day and this is my routine:

100 hammer curls - 50 per arm:


100 overhead triceps extensions - 50 per arm:

50 upright rows:

50 seated shoulder presses:

100 single arms rows - 50 per arm:

50 flat chess presses:

50 flat chest flies:


These exercises work out the biceps, triceps, traps, shoulders, back and chest. I also do crunches and leg lifts to work the abs and jog and walk a lot for the legs.

[DaveDQ]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

I'm currently in a position to where I want to gain muscle to where I'm at my desired weight but tone. i'm not wanting to be crazy cut or ripped, just a good solid tone all around. I worked myself up to running 5 miles a day, every other day (4 times a week). My goal was to lose some weight and then work back up to my desired weight.

I'm 6'4" and currently weight 215. I'd like to be around 225. My thing is I don't like to watch calories or go on specialized diets. I eat about 3 eggs (scrambled) in the morning with 2 pieces of buttered toast. I love pasta, so I have that a few times a week. The only workout I've been doing with running is an 8 minute ab workout I found on Youtube.

Anyway, I always used to see this thread in the past so I figure i'd join in.

[Money99]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

Hey guys, just wanted to get some quick input...

I'm returning to weight training after about four years off. When I was in high school and early in college, I used to lift hard every day. I also did cardio every day (sometimes twice a day). Around the middle of my sophomore year I just quit lifting and doing cardio (aside from playing basketball once a week, but I haven't done that in a year).

I have a weight lifting plan all set out, and, for the first time ever, I plan on supplementing with Whey Protein. I could never afford it before, but I can now.

I am going to go to the gym around 2:30 p.m., which is 1/2 hour after I wake up. No, I'm not completely lazy, I work midnights, so I typically sleep from 7a/8a-2p. Anyway, I can't eat within an hour or two of waking up, and I've heard it's good to take in at least some protein before you weight train, so I'm going to have a small-medium whey protein shake before I go to the gym (as well as a full shake afterward).


My question is concerning cardio: Would it make sense to do 20 minutes of cardio after my weight training having taking protein before my weight training? Would I just be burning the protein shake or anything?

Taking protein immediately before and after a workout has proven to be the best way to gain muscle - as opposed to consuming protein hours before or after a workout.
So good job there.

Regarding cardio after a workout, I've read a few reports that don't recommend it.
They state that your body will convert muscle to energy needed for the cardio workout.
I don't know the exact science behind it, but it's what I've read on a few sites.
Take that for what it's worth.

I've been doing full-body workouts the past 6 months. I enjoy them more than regular split routines. I do it either 2 or 3 days a week and then run on the off days.
I've also just switched to only compound movements as well. We'll see how that goes without any isolation exercises. I'm a bit hesitant, but I'll try it for a 3-month period and see how it goes.

[DaveDQ]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

My weight has dropped to 209. I thought I'd be gaining weight but I'm noticing that I'm toning up some but no weight gain. Another thing I'm battling is my stomach area. My abs are beginning to form but my lower stomach and "love handles" just won't go away.

[Money99]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

My weight has dropped to 209. I thought I'd be gaining weight but I'm noticing that I'm toning up some but no weight gain. Another thing I'm battling is my stomach area. My abs are beginning to form but my lower stomach and "love handles" just won't go away.

They're always the last to go.
Abs are all about diet. You can do situps till the cows come home and it won't matter.
It sucks because I love sweets.

Sausage, if you're going to do a 3-days a week workouts, have you conisidered going to a full-body routine on all 3 days?
Concentrate on only compound movements for all of them. (iso's can be used for bi's, tri's, calfs, etc).
You may like that too.

[DaveDQ]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

They're always the last to go.
Abs are all about diet. You can do situps till the cows come home and it won't matter.
It sucks because I love sweets.

I'm trying to hold back on sugar. But I made a commitment to myself that I will enjoy food. i like a little sugar in my coffee so that stays. A lot of times I see guys talking about what they eat everyday, and I know that's what's good for them, but eating chicken wings for lunch and dinner with a bunch of frozen vegetables is boring. There's just too much quality food out there to enjoy.

If I have to wait longer to get in better shape, so be it. I just can't eat that dull and not enjoy what I like to enjoy. It's all about moderation for me.

[willIam9387]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

Been away from my lifting program for a good seven weeks, and that's too long for me since I worked started my lifting program last Dec and made it through Oct. before work and school got in the way. Anyway, I'm looking to come back to my lifting routine which is a body part a day, five-day routine, monday chest, tuesday back, wednesday shoulders, and then thursday arms, and if I'm feeling it friday legs but that's rare. I saw some really good gains in those ten months, went from benching like 115 ten times to maxing out on 185 like two to three times, but towards the end I started to plateau in that respect. In respect to protein, I normally take whey after each workout, and on some days I'm not lifting I take whey as well, but I'm interesting in adopting a more rigorous supplement program.
I'm set with ON whey protein, but I'm wondering should I buy a casein protein as well and how many times per day should I have a protein shake in order to complement the work I do in the gym.

Also I'm looking to get a pre-workout as well, anyone have any recommendations and any good pre-workouts that don't leave you feeling buzzed or jittery.?

Also in terms of lifting, about how often should I switch up my workout in terms of exercises in order to keep my muscles from getting used to the workout? Every month?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[mpbaseball22]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

Been away from my lifting program for a good seven weeks, and that's too long for me since I worked started my lifting program last Dec and made it through Oct. before work and school got in the way. Anyway, I'm looking to come back to my lifting routine which is a body part a day, five-day routine, monday chest, tuesday back, wednesday shoulders, and then thursday arms, and if I'm feeling it friday legs but that's rare. I saw some really good gains in those ten months, went from benching like 115 ten times to maxing out on 185 like two to three times, but towards the end I started to plateau in that respect. In respect to protein, I normally take whey after each workout, and on some days I'm not lifting I take whey as well, but I'm interesting in adopting a more rigorous supplement program.
I'm set with ON whey protein, but I'm wondering should I buy a casein protein as well and how many times per day should I have a protein shake in order to complement the work I do in the gym.

Also I'm looking to get a pre-workout as well, anyone have any recommendations and any good pre-workouts that don't leave you feeling buzzed or jittery.?

Also in terms of lifting, about how often should I switch up my workout in terms of exercises in order to keep my muscles from getting used to the workout? Every month?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well for protein the kind i take tells me to take 3 scoops an hour before working out, and an hour after.

As far as how often you should swith rouitines.. Id say 3 months but thats not really based on anything i just find after 3 month it gets repetitive.

Also lifting 5 days a week but only working one body part a day isnt how id do it. When i lift i get sore for 2 days then the third day im lifting that mucsle again.

[Feared]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

Ok I'm getting back into working out after about 2 years of slacking off, and I'm serious this time. I'm tired of lacking confidence, and I want this year to finally be the year I break through and get a Girlfriend.

I've always been on the skinny side, I'm 140 and really lean... and last time I gained strength but not really much mass. So I figure this time around I need to Eat A LOT more to pack on muscle and get the results I want, and I can cut from that point if I have to.

This is what I have changed my diet too.
- Breakfast - Banana, 3 scrambled Eggs, and a Whole Wheat Toast with Peanut Butter. / with a Whey Protein Shake (10 ounces.)

- Snack 1 - Some Toast with Peanut Butter, maybe a fruit Banana, Apple, or Blueberries.. Sometimes I'll replace the Toast with a Greek Yogurt.

- Lunch - Either 2 cans of Tuna, or Peanut Butter Sandwiches depends on what I can afford to bring to work.

- Dinner - Alternates between Grilled Chicken Breast, or Lean Ground Beef with Whole Wheat pasta, or Rice. Vegetables, Carrots, Broccoli, Cucumbers.

- Final Snack - usually an hour or two before I go to bed I'll have some Cottage Cheese, or a Greek Yogurt. (I read somewhere that Cottage Cheese has Casein Protein and is good for your body to break down overnight, any truth to this?)

- Always try to fit in 5-6 glasses of water through out the day. More if I work out.

Days where I work out I'll have a Banana, and a Protein Shake directly after I work out.



So questions to some guys that have had success putting on muscle? Is my diet too light? Do I need to add more? I'm cutting out all the Fast Food, Sugars, Soda... (my friends tell me I'm young so I shouldn't be going so drastic because I can handle it, but I'm not buying it I want to get ripped so in the end I think those things will hinder me ) Do I have too much Dairy in my diet? Too many Carbs, not enough? Any help welcome.

[cubsfan203]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

Man, what in the world happened to this thread? It's only had 10 posts in it the past year after having 1900 in the previous 4 years.

I've really slacked off working out wise the past couple years as well. I'm still sitting around 6'5" and fluctuate in the 175-180lb range. I'm starting new, with the goal of getting in the 190-195 range sometime in April before cutting whatever fat I have heading into the summer.

Here's the "beginners" work-out I'm using to get back into the swing of things.

A Simple beginner's Routine
You will do 3 work outs per week on non consecutive days. The first work out is your heavy work out. The second work out is your medium work out, use 10% less weight for your work sets. The final work out for the week is your lite work out, use 20% less weight.

Do a lite warm up with 1/4 of your work sets weight. Do a medium warm up with 1/2 of your work sets weight. Do 2 work sets with the same weight. Choose a starting weight and start light.

These are the seven exercises you will be starting with.

Squats
Bench Presses
Bent-Over Rows
Overhead Barbell Presses
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Barbell Curls
Calf Raises

You will be running this program on a five week cycle as follows:
The first week do all 4 sets for 8 reps.
The second week do all 4 sets for 9 reps.
The third week do all 4 sets for 10 reps.
The fourth week do all 4 sets for 11 reps.
The fifth week do all 4 sets for 12 reps.
If you got all of the required reps on the fifth week then increase the weight by 10% and

repeat the cycle. If you didn't get all of the reps on the fifth week then repeat the cycle with the same weight. You shouldn't need more than one minute rest between the warm up sets and you shouldn't need more than one minute thirty seconds between the work sets.
Do some cardio and abs work on non weight training days.

I'll probably try to stick with at least for a few cycles and see what kind of results it brings. I did it for the first time today, and it really kicked my butt since I'm terrible at making myself workout my legs.

Only supplements I'm using right now is whey protein and a multivitamin. I'm considering adding some cheap fish oil and flaxseed oil pills from Wal-Mart as well. Also considered a pre-workout, but I'd rather avoid those.

Anyways, enough of me. I want to get this thread active again so post away!

[AUChase]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

I just got back in the gym last week, after a two month hiatus.

I'm really just trying to improve the shape I'm in and cut a little excess and gain some muscle/tone. I'm 6'3" 225, so I'm around the right weight range and I really don't have a whole lot of 'fat' to cut. I started back last Thursday and I've been Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Tonight.

I usually like to focus on a muscle group or two each day, so I've been going in this order.

Chest/Abs
Back/Shoulders
Arms
Legs
Cardio

I'll usually get in the gym and get on the treadmill for a few minutes to get my heart rate up and then move on to my workout.

The only problem is, I haven't completely changed how I eat. I don't like McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc.. so that's not an issue..

I do eat some fried food here and there, but I've been mostly eating Tuna/other lean meat for Lunch and trying to get more of my protein through my food rather than gearing up on a bunch of other ****.

I drink maybe 1 Soda (usually diet) every couple days, but mostly drink water and then some sort alcoholic drink on Saturday nights.

If I'm doing a heavy dose of cardio on a particular day, I'll go ahead and get a good 40g of Protein in through a shake, otherwise I break it down by starting the day off with 30g and then later that night after work and my workout I'll follow it up with another 30g to help recover.

The only other product I'm taking in is Jack3d for preworkout. I like the results and it's an awesome substitute for loading up on caffeine through energy drinks and other garbage.

I'm trying to get stronger, but also tone at the same time.. so any tips would be awesome, from some guys who have been at it a long time. I hate talking to the average person about it, because everyone thinks their ritual is best, when sometimes each person reacts differently, but I figured most guys here on OS are level headed enough to discuss it with.

The gym I go to is owned by a guy named 'Dr. Crestman', who is actually a licensed doctor. They have a full gym with kickboxing/mixed martial arts/self defense classes for women and some other stuff. They don't charge members any extra for classes and don't expect anything extra for helping members out with their routine, I just don't care to have a 'personal trainer'. I'm a pretty smart dude and I've got a workout that works for me.

[iAM-IncReDiBLe-]

My current workout is this.

Monday: chest/bicep
Tuesday: back/tricep
Wednesday: legs/shoulder
Thursday: chest/bicep
Friday: back/tricep

I'm 5'8 172lbs

I weighed 200 the beginning of this year an got down to my current weight. I still have a few pounds to lose because I still have a slight gut. I want to get back to around 190lbs and continue to get stronger. I max out on the bench at 265 right now. I fell like I'm pretty strong for my size. Basically I want to get in that bob sanders type of shape since he's the same height as me.

Sent from Jesus EVO

[canes21]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

I've stayed in the same 3-4lbs range since August, yet my weight(lifts) are all still going up. I haven't plateau'd on anything except for gaining weight. I'm 5'9"-5'10" and constantly weight 162-164. My bench is 225 and my squat is 285 and I honestly don't know if those are good numbers for my size. I'd like to keep increasing my strength of course, like I have been, but I'd like to put on another 5-10lbs like I did over summer.

I've only taken protein like 2-3 times when my buddy wanted me to taste his new brand, and I've never done creatine, and I don't think I really want to get started on it. I guess if I started doing protein, though, I'd start gaining weight again because I don't see how I'd be able to eat much more throughout the day.

[Sublime12089]

In the next few days I am going to start a routine. I am 6'5" and about 215ish. I don't have a target weight as I just would like to get stronger, get healthier, and feel better. Here is my planned routine and I would appreciate advice. I typically work second shift (afternoon to night) so this will all be around that.

WORKOUT:
apt complex has a 24hr center. It is machines only however. But is my only option at the moment. In a week it would be 3 days full body workout with whatever is in the center, 3 days cardio (hoops, raquetball, running, or cardio on the machines) alternating with one rest day a week.

Diet:
I need to get better about eating breakfast, but it would be eggs and grapefruit for breakfast, salad with deli meat or tuna or sandwich, usually broiled meat with cooked canned vegetables and salad for dinner and smacks being things like fruit or carrots, or celery with Pb or even a sugar free fudgesicle on occassion. I would also be doing protein shakes prob after workouts. I also recently quit smoking but still drink more than I should. I am trying to cut back but At least I don't mind sticking.with liquor an low Cal chasers.

Any suggestion? Also can anyone reccomend a solid diet tracker? Thanks!

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

[Feared]

Re: For all you guys wanting to gain muscle, size, etc.

So I wanted to focus on working Chest today, so I did some resistance band training. I did Resistance Band Chest Presses, Chest Flies, Shoulder Press, Curls, and Outer/Inner Rows.

Only problem is I felt more of a burn in my triceps, more than my chest. Chest wasn't feeling work at all...

Which either means I was doing the exercises wrong, Doubt it since I was trying to stress form. Or my overall arms are too weak for me to get the proper chest workout...

So I just decided to work Triceps the rest of the day, and finished up with some Dumbbell Skullcrushers, and Diamond Push-ups. Might as well strengthen my triceps, since if you want big arms... which I do... you need to go hard on the tris moreso than the biceps.

I guess I need to do some additional chest exercises next time. Maybe more Push-ups, Bench Presses? anyone got some good chest specific routines?