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

[cubsfan203]

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

A food people rave over for that is peanut butter. It's caloric dense, has some protein, and has HEALTHY fats.

If you're struggling getting in enough cals have a spoonful or two of PB and that's a solid 200-300 cals. Honestly don't be afraid of fat. If you notice yourself starting to put on bad weight then report back. With your metabolism I highly doubt that would happen.

That'll be easy enough I love the stuff. The only problem with me is that if I eat a lot I tend to get bloated I guess, and the only real place I put on fat is my stomach but I can actually put that on pretty fast if I don't eat right. Like a small amount of fat slowly builds up during the week, but then it's gone after I get a couple of good nights sleep on the weekend.

Sorry for bombarding you with questions but I have another. Is there any way to make your arms appear more round? Like if you look at me from the side my arms are pretty muscular, but if you look at me from the front of back they appear skinny. Would working my triceps a lot help that or is it just how my body is built?

[stewaat]

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

To make them more round you need to build muscle. To give them a cut look you need to have low body fat on your arms. I'd work both the biceps and triceps hard because you might as well get them both big.

[stewaat]

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

Damn...this thread BLEW UP.

Ok...some quick hitters for various questions in this thread.

1. Slow and steady on technique...the faster you go doing any exercise..the more you are using MOMENTUM and not MUSCLE. Go for a steady pace of about 2 seconds up and 2 seconds down.

2. Skipping Breakfast is a BAD idea. For one thing....you have been asleep for 6-8 hours or more and your body has NOTHING in it. If you wait until Lunchtime to eat many things will happen and they are all bad...
a) Your metabolism will slow because your body thinks you are in starvation mode.

b) Since you have no calories to burn in your stomach...your body will use valuable MUSCLE TISSUE instead.

c) Your energy levels will drop big time.

3. You guys who live on soda, chips, and fast food will most likely start to develop strong headaches and stomach pains from all of the caffeine, sugar, and trans fats being pumped into your body daily.

4. If you are looking to gain muscle/mass your goal for protein intake should be roughly 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.

5. There is no reason not to use Whey Protein a great deal in your daily diet. Not only is it a great source of a COMPLETE protein (i.e. it has all of the essential amino acids, etc.) but it's a hell of a lot more convenient mixing a couple of scoops of powder in a cup with some milk or water and gulping it down in a busy day than cooking and eating a piece of chicken or fish. BUT...you do want variety in your diet so your body gets a wide range of nutrients.

6. Guys who are taller, have longer arms, etc... Use DUMBBELLS. In fact...I swear by as much dumbbell training as possible as it works the stabilizer muscles much better than machines or barbells and helps with "real world" functional strength. I.e. Dumbbell bench press, curls, Tricep "skull crushers", shoulder press, shoulder flys, etc. Also...you don't need a spotter.

Example...for 3 years I didn't go near a Bench press rack. I only did Dumbbell work...decline, incline and flat DB Bench press with 120 pound dumbbells.

When I finally did..for sh*ts and giggles...max out on a bench press...I benched 405. That was after never going higher than 240 pounds (120 + 120 Dumbbells) for 3 years working chest.

7. If you are hungry...EAT!! Hunger pains are your body TELLING you that it needs food. Your body is the best gauge of when to eat...it's been programmed for thousands of years.

This doesn't mean go to an all you can eat buffet every time you get hungry..but do try and get a high protein, low fat snack to satisfy your hunger AND promote an increased metabolism.

If I wake up in the night...I'll usually drink a protein shake because your body is most anabolic (i.e. capable of building muscle) when you are in deep REM sleep.

At work, bored, reading through this thread, this is good, I like commas, comma.

[Mxracer23x]

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

I purchased some E.A.S myoplex drinks today. I was wondering if these things really do help or if i should return it.

And also is it just after lifting weights or cardio too. Seeing Brady Quinn's commercial really made me want to try it out

[TarHeelMan]

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

They've been around for awhile. 10 years ago, they had a bunch of Denver Broncos endorsing their products, like John Elway and Terrell Davis. I didn't care too much for their stuff, and thought it was overpriced. They had this contest called Body-For-Life for a 12-week transformation, and gave away money and Corvettes. Not sure if they still do it.

[stewaat]

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

I purchased some E.A.S myoplex drinks today. I was wondering if these things really do help or if i should return it.

And also is it just after lifting weights or cardio too. Seeing Brady Quinn's commercial really made me want to try it out

Well the main thing in those EAS shakes is protein. You need protein and I would definitely drink one after a weight lifting workout. You can drink one after cardio but it mainly depends on your goals. If you're trying to put on mass then I would drink it.

At the end of the day there is one rule of weight management: cals in vs cal out --- in > out = gain weight --- in < out = lose weight

I'm going to do some major name dropping right here....me and Brady talked about supplements during our time together at Notre Dame. We were best friends. Okay maybe I made that last part up but he was a really nice guy. Too bad he changed his phone number. Or at least he blocked me from my repeat attempts to stalk him

[Fresh Tendrils]

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

So, I have been actively lifting weights for the past year or so and I am actually in better shape now than I ever was while I was in high-school. Over the past year, I've been working on a weight-resistant home gym (live at home). I had gotten to the point where I couldn't add anymore weight, so I just did more reps (max. weight was 200lbs for bench). Last week I broke the damn while doing a tricep pushdown (I'm okay) and my Dad is getting another weight-resistant home gym, but I think I'm going to go ahead and get my own weight bench.

I've been thinking of ordering this one and possibly a hyper bench to go with it. Now, I'm wondering how some of the exercises I did would transfer over to a weight bench. Some of them would be obvious, but here's my current run-through:

1) Standing...bicep extensions? - the actual name escapes but I actually use a weight-bar and then lift it up over my head.
2) Seated Preacher Curl (150lbs) x 20
3) Flat Bench Press (200lbs) x 15
4) Lat Pull Down (more like pull-ups though - 150) x 20
5) Pectoral Fly (90) x 15
6) Leg Extension (150) x 30
7) Leg Kickback (150) x 15 (I had to stop doing these because the bar I rested my knee on started to bend)
8) Lat Pull Down (150) x 10
9) Standing Tricep Pulldown (150) x 10
10) Upright Row (150) x 10


I would like to keep this routine and was wondering with a free weight set what I would need other than a 6" weight bar to do triceps and butterfly. I would obviously like to drop the number of reps and actually increase the weight - so, how do free weights compare to weight-resistant?

[Scooter3]

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

Thanks for this tip...

Scooter...

[bkfount]

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

Last week I broke the damn while doing a tricep pushdown (I'm okay) and my Dad is getting another weight-resistant home gym, but I think I'm going to go ahead and get my own weight bench.

yeah, I've done that too showing off at my friend's house. Broke their cheap piece of crap. Why have weights on the machine if it can't even stand going that high?

[EWRMETS]

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

This is a great post for those who want to get into or get back into weight training.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

[cubsfan203]

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

Couple more quick questions for anyone that feels like answering...

--Is there a way to target your inner chest? I'm starting to see some good results in the outer part near my shoulder but not so much the inner part.

--Does the amount of incline make too much of a difference? Right now I'm using the 2nd highest incline on my bench because I can't get the bar off in the highest one. Would that mess up with the results because I really need my upper chest worked.

[BunnyHardaway]

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

I don't lift or anything, but I've actually gained 6 or 7 pounds by just eating as much as possible (up from 112 to 118-119). I just force myself to eat pretty much. I usually have a box of pasta once or twice a week and go to McDonald's and eat 1 or 2 double hamburgers and medium fries whenever I have money. It's working so far.

[superjames1992]

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

I don't lift or anything, but I've actually gained 6 or 7 pounds by just eating as much as possible (up from 112 to 118-119). I just force myself to eat pretty much. I usually have a box of pasta once or twice a week and go to McDonald's and eat 1 or 2 double hamburgers and medium fries whenever I have money. It's working so far.

Are you gaining fat or muscle, though? I don't lift either besides a few situps and pushups a day. I sit around 150 lbs. at 5'10". I am not fat I don't think, but I am not skinny either...somewhere in between. I just get bored when doing too much.

[colkilla]

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

dips, weighted if you can do them. that should hit the inner portion of the chest...

[cubsfan203]

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

dips, weighted if you can do them. that should hit the inner portion of the chest...

Is there anything you can do with a bench or dumbbells? I don't have time to go to a gym or anything. I've been told DB Flys work the inner chest, but I guess what I'm asking is there a way to target that area so just it will grow and not spread from the outside-in.