Strength training/bodybuilding

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As I said in RBP, I recently got a hold of various barbell weights, a bench and a bar.

My ultimate aim is building muscle and developping endurance and strength. I'm focused on the upper body and arms, and my exercises are centered on just that. Here's what I do:

First week:
1 set of 30 , focusing on deltoids - 2 lbs
1 set of 30 , focusing on triceps - 2 lbs
2 sets of 50, biceps - 10 lbs
2 set of 30, benchpresses - 20 lbs.

Second week:
1 set of 30, focusing on deltoids - 4 lbs.
1 set of 30, focusing on triceps - 4 lbs
2 sets of 50, biceps - 12 lbs
2 sets of ~25, benchpresses - 25 lbs.

And from tonight:
1 set of 30, focusing on deltoids - 4 lbs
1 set of 30, focusing on triceps - 4 lbs
2 sets of 25, biceps - 20 lbs
2 sets of 25, benchpresses, 40 lbs
2 sets of 15, lifting the benchpress bar, 40 lbs. (that was NASTY!)

So, I thought that maybe some of you are bodybuilding adepts here, and maybe got some advice to pass along my way, like exercices to suppress/add, stuff like that. Also, I'm aiming to change my diet in favor of a more protein-rich, seeing that proteins are a key in building muscle mass.

Any advice or input would be welcome.

 

Well, I've been training with weights for several years, so I think I can help you with a thing or two.

While your strength might not be big in the beginning, you will soon find yourself in need of more weights, so your best investment would be to buy weights for your barbell if you haven't got enough of them.

Secondly, for building muscles, working in the 30 reps range isn't really optimal. You want to work with a weight that makes you fail (ie unable to do another rep) at about 8-12 reps, or less.


I'm a little pressed with time now (gotta catch a bus), so I'll elaborate more on it later, but all you really need to gain size is a barbell, bench and some adjustable (for height) supports to put the barbell on between sets.

There is a great mass building program I'll give you later. What it focuses on is doing the heavy, compound exercises such as squats (#1 exercise of them all), deadlifts, bench press and barbell rows.


As for the diet, like you said, eat a lot of protein, but most importantly, eat a lot, period.

 

I'm very far from being any kind of expert in this area, so I'll limit myself to a single comment.

What Bahir is saying here is sound. Many repetitions of smaller weights are used for musuclar endurance rather than pure strength. Well, endurance and toning.

 

Concerning protein-rich diet meat isn't necessarily the best option. There's not that much wrong with it either, but nuts have more proteins per weight than meat does. One thing about meat is that you get additional testosterone, if it's a bull that is...which might come in handy building up your muscle mass. It's just a little extra that you might want to consider, but you can still build hefty muscles while being vegetarian.

Dairy products have a lot of protein and they contain relatively low amount of energy. Non-fat milk is a great way to get some proteins. Of course you can just go out and buy some protein powders. Mix 'em with milk and you're starting to get all the daily proteins you need.

Easy rule to remember is that eat as much protein in grams as you weigh in pounds. For instance, I weigh around 153 pounds, so my protein requirement for getting more muscle mass would be 153 grams of protein, daily.

One thing to keep in mind is that muscles develop quite slowly. You might start to notice getting more muscle mass only six months after you've started training, but muscle nerves branch faster giving you more control of your muscles and more strength. Eating nuts is a good thing as well since they contain good fatty acids needed by your nerve cells for their development and branching.

Cut down on carbohydrates. Unless you need easy energy. Eat a lot, yeah, but eat a lot more protein than you're used to. The thing about foods with a lot of carbs is that they give you a lot of energy, but not much anything else. You need to get that protein wagon going, and foods rich with carbs usually have little protein. The easiest, and the least, thing to do is cut down on sugar and white bread.

Eat often, but relatively small rations. Binge eating might be tempting, but you're building muscles, not fat. Binge eating gives a sign to your body that your living in times of abundance. That means starting to build up adipose tissue, storing up for the winter. Fructose should be avoided for the same reason. Binge eating also makes you drowsy and you need to stay sharp to keep up the pace.

Oh, yah, one more thing came into mind. Stretch. A lot. And keep your electrolyte balance in check. A pinch of extra salt wont hurt, in fact it'll keep your muscles from cramping. Stretching and a little more salt will speed up your muscle recurrence, making it possible for you to train more and more often.

Train at least three days a week. Five days is better. Start slowly with small(ish) weights and small series so that you'll know what's your optimal training frequency and how much you can lift at least those three days a week.

One more thing, don't overdo it. If you can't train, you can't train. Give yourself a day off, but don't make it as an excuse. Push yourself to the edge and a little further, but don't go too far.

[ June 15, 2007, 15:10: Message edited by: Iku-Turso ]

 

A few years ago I decided to build muscle mass. I went from 160 pounds to 200 pounds (without a gain in fat) over the course of a year by lifting weights.

A few pointers:

Always stretch and warm up before and after working out -- nothing will slow down your progress like an injury (believe me).

More weight, less reps. To gain muscle mass you must convince your body you need more muscle -- that comes by pushing it to the limit in 10 or less reps. You should be looking at something like 10 reps for your first set, 6-8 reps for your second set, and 4 reps for your third set (with as much weight as you can handle safely). Your high reps are building your endurance, but you want to gain weight first, then build endurance. Do the more weight, less reps until you're at your target weight, then shift to increased reps with slightly less weight.

Focus on big muscle groups and compound exercises. This will generate muscle mass the fastest. Exercises like dead lift, squats and bench press build bulk fastest. Do one of these with each workout and then focus on the other exercises.

Every other day is a good regiment to have for weight lifting to start with. Use off days for a cardiovascular workout.

Eat a balanced diet. I have yet to see a reputable study linking use of a dietary suppliment to muscle gains -- suppliments are just high calorie additives and any increased caloric intake will help you gain weight. Remember that you are increasing the calories you are using -- you need to increase your caloric intake to gain weight. High priced suppliments are not necessary -- just eat more.

There are a lot of good resources out there. Look for ones that are associated with universities (as opposed to anyone in the bodybuilding industry). The trainers at universities are very good at building up a person safely -- bodybuilders are more concerned building a perfect muscle. Just a quick look provided:

9 Cardinal Sins of Weightlifting from AskMen.com

Weightlifting: A guide to better lifting techniques

One last thing. You may initially see a gain in weight without a gain in bulk -- this is normal. Your body is using up fat stores and 'compacting' your muscles. Don't worry about it, just keep going.

Good luck.

[ June 15, 2007, 16:57: Message edited by: T2Bruno ]

 

"If you cheat during training, then your only cheating yourself" - my old basketball coach.
But yeah, don't train if you're feeling overly sore, you'll just make it worse.

Btw, what benefit do squats have on the middle to upper body? I started a few last week only expecting it to have an impact on my vertical jump/leg muscles and not much else, but a few people have suggested otherwise

Also why only 3-5 times/week and not everyday?

 

Sure, you can do it everyday. But 3 times a week's the minimum in which you can still gain muscle mass and strentgh reasonably. Everyday's good, but it's not necessary. I'd say 5-6 times a week depending on the training program will get you on par, or quite close with professional bodybuilders, athletes and weightlifters in a few years, but it takes a lot of determination, tough diet and a tough regime.

 

I started going to the gym two summers ago. My workout was really random (apart from alternating upper and lower body) since I just used whatever machine or free weights that happened to be vacant. The results after a year was dramatic, but since then I've hit a plateau. Now I think I'm only maintaining what I've got, instead of gaining more strength (I noticed I keep using the same amount of weight on each machine.) Sometimes I think it's because I have a slender Asian frame so I can't bulk up.

Any advice? Right now, I'm trying to do a focused workout so I've been doing all upper body stuff. But that doesn't mean I'm concentrating on a certain muscle group since I don't know what i'm doing. Next week I'll try adding more weight and less reps....

What's a dead lift?

 

Blog try either shifting between different machines that train the same muscle/muscles every so often (do one machine one or two months then shift) or if you get stuck on one weight increase it even though you might not be ready, chances are if you have been stuck on a weight for a long periode that you actually is ready for the higher wieght, but that you body simply expect the other out of habit.

the reason for every other days is the muscles needs roughly 48hours to rebuild themself. you can train every day as long as its not the same musclegroup you train each day, thats what most bodybuilders i know do, focus on one or two muscle/musclegroup each day.

 

Nah, I believe in training a little but not bodybuilding. Women don't like men who are too big, just normal. I have a bit of muscle in my arm, maybe a little more would look good, but only a little.

 

I hate weightlifting and going to the gym, in my opinion it does not get much more boring than that. I'll take a good run in the woods or a nice game of tennis over any gym.

 

Lots of sound advice here... thanks guys.

I've tweaked my series of exercices according to what many of you said, and for the next week or so, this is the gameplan:

2 sets of 10, deltoids - 10 lbs
2 sets of 10, triceps - 10 lbs
2 sets of 25, biceps - 20 lbs
2 sets of 25, benchpresses, 40 lbs.
2 sets of 15, lifting the benchpress bar, 40 lbs.

Diet-wise, sugar and white bread are two things I avoid at any cost. I've long been an adept of wheat bread, so this part is no problem. Sugar isn't also, apart from the very occasionnal Coca-Cola Blak which cranks up 12g of carbs/sugar.

However, carbs could prove problematic - I'm a huge fan of pasta. I'm a long time fan of wheat pastas, but those still reach a whopping 65g of carbs per portion So those will have to be dropped off the list.

As for nuts, which type gets the highest protein content? I've long been an almond fan, but I'm open to other type of nuts, like peanuts, walnuts, brasil nuts, stuff like that.

It's been the opposite for me -- I've actually *lost* weight - five or six pounds, nothing major. The one plausible explanation I see of that is that somehow training burns fat. It sounds a bit odd, but anything is possible, I guess.

I'm not doing this in an effort to get more woman, I'm doing it for myself. It's a long overdue improvement on myself and a boost on self-confidence and self-esteem - which I *do* need.

 

Ok, here comes my big writeup, I might add some more later.

As I said earlier, using heavy weights and progressing with your strength is key to making gains.

First of all, I'd like to introduce you to a great workout program that is proven to work really wellfor beginners (just look at any bodybuilding forum and you'll see tons of testamonials).
Rippetoe/Starting strength FAQ - Program is included in this, along with links to other good reads. Don't skip reading the information, consider it an investment - knowledge is definetly power in bodybuilding.
Rippetoe/Starting Strength Question Thread

In my own opinion, I would go for this workout: (sets x reps)

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Pendlay Rows

But perhaps switch the Pendlay rows for Barbell rows (IMO, barbell rows works better)


Also note the exercise descriptions, and try to avoid cheating as much as possible. It's really important to use good form when you do exercises such as squats, otherwise, you might injure yourself. It is especially important when you start working out, so that you learn the motions (muscle memory) from the beginning.

Direct arm work is included in the program, if you read the posts. The thing is though, the arms and the whole body will grow the most from the compound exercises such as bench press, deadlifts, barbell rows etc.


Here are slide show images for a lot of exercises, along with descriptions


As for the diet part:

If you want to gain weight (mostly muscle), it is a good idea to consume more calories than you expend. Note however, that a calorie is not a calorie. There is a difference between eating french fries and the equal amount of calories in normal potatoes. There two terms of bodybuilding that you might find usefull when it comes to food: "clean food" and "dirty food". Clean food is usually good protein sources, slow carbs and good fats, all in good amounts". Dirty food would be the opposite, and an example would be pizza, french fries, pastery, soda, etc - stuff that has quick carbs and bad fats in large amounts.

Dirty food usually has more calories than clean food, but the clean food will usually yield better results, so try to stick with it (unless you just want to put on mass period, and don't care about gaining fat. In that case, just make sure your protein intake is high.)


About protein: Yes, 1 gram per pound of bodyweight or more is good. Eating too much protein is not bad for the kidneys, the rumours about the opposite stems from studys on patients with kidney diseases. Just keep your water intake high and you will be fine. A good indicator is how clear/light your piss is. The more the better.

About carbonhydrates: Carbs is an important source of energy, since our body looks to carbs first, and draws over 60 percent of the energy used for our body from them.
One can divide carbs into two groups; quick and slow. The quick ones are digested and released into the bloodstream very quickly after eating them, which causes larger amounts of insulin to be released, and a surge of energy to the body that quickly dissipates. This release of energy makes the (muscle) cells more receptable to nutrients, but it also makes the body store fat more easily. Excess carbs (carbs that are not used directly for energy or stored as glykogen in the muscles and liver) turn into fat and is stored as such. Quick carbs (eaten in large amounts) does this more than slow carbs.
The only time you should have quick carbs (such as dextrose) is directly after weight training, along with a easily digested protein source (such as whey).

Slow carbs is the opposite, they are digested slower and cause less of an insulin release. This means they are optimal for every meal except for the one directly after training (the protein shake, most often). Good sources are oatmeal, potatoes, rice, pasta. The thing about fat storage still holds though, so try not to eat too much slow carbs in one meal. A good idea is to have the most amount of carbs in the first meal of the day, and make it less for every meal that goes.

About fats: Fats are very important for the body to function correctly, so don't cut down on these (except for the bad kinds). Among other things, they regulate hormone levels.
Try to eat mostly polyunsaturated fats, omega-3's and omega-6's. Good sources are fish oil, fish in general, olive oil, flax seed oil.

Meals in general: Try to eat 6 or more meals per day, and eat a bit smaller meals that you usually do. This will keep the flow of nutrients to the muscles steady.

More about nutrition and diets, diet examples etc can be found here

Meats are usually better though, they are complete proteins (have all essential amino acids), which can't be said about the vegetarian type of foods. Nuts are pretty good though, but meats are better.

 

(I had a big post written out earlier, but I accidently posted the first portion without noticing, so the rest was deleted).

To summarize what I was going to say, slowly change your diet, don't drastically alter it all at once. Your body likely won't be ready to add mass right away and it may be a bit lot for you to change your eating habits instantly. Without changing your diet you can add a few pounds fine and by the time you are ready to start going for a lot more muscle mass your diet (and body) should be ready.

[ June 16, 2007, 02:41: Message edited by: ChickenIsGood ]

 

Disciple - my main piece of advice is to keep changing your routine on a regular basis. Even the best weights programme in the world stops working once your body gets used to it. I believe that you need to keep your muscles on their toes (so to speak) but continually adding new and different exercises.

Good luck and keep us posted on how it's going.

 

Well... I guess we're different then. The main way I boost self confidence is to get some fanny. Women liking you, finding you attractive and being after you is a major confidence booster.

 

@stu, squats and deadlifts work your core muscles, not just the muscles you think they are working. i.e. squats work your legs of course but they also work you abs,glutes,back and shoulder muscles due to the fact you are having to balance yourself & hold everything in form.

a good simple exercise,yet very effective,one is to do pushups with your feet on an exercise ball. this brings all of your core muscles in by making you focus on balancing your body. it is amazing how sore your abs & obliques can get after only 3 sets of 25-50.

also, when working your delts alternate thusly,
1st rep, straight out from your body
2nd rep, out at a 45Degree angle
3rd rep, crossing inward so that your hand is in line with your opposite shoulder at full extension
repeat 4 times for 1 set. do 3 sets.
this works the front and side heads of your delts & all interconnecting minor muscle groups.
to work your rear delts, bend over so that your torso is parallel with the floor, arms extended straight down and lift themstraight out so that you look like a T that is bent in the middle. try not to hunch your shoulders when you do this as that takes away from the delts

 

Here's the question for you guys.

I'm a farm boy with a compressed disk in my lower back. I've also added about 25 lbs of belly fat in the two years since the injury. Is there a way through strength training that I can trim the waist line while strengthening the arms and legs without aggravating my back?

 

I just did the improved version of my training program, except I did 2 x 15 for deltoids and triceps instead of 1 x 30.

I wanted to save barbell lifting for the end, but after lifting the bar with 45 pounds on it (2 x 15), I basically had no strength left in my arms, so I've dropped barbell lifting for tonight - besides, lifting that bar worked the biceps anyway.

Meh, unlike you, I'm not worried about woman being after me. This, however, is RRT topic, so I'll leave it at that.

 

The best thing would probably be to see a physiotherapist.

Disciple of The Watch: Remember that you should NOT train every day, especially not in the beginning. Recovery times are slower, so you are only doing yourself harm, and here is another tip: don't work the same muscle out two days in a row


Also, as I said earlier, if you want to really gain muscle, I suggest you start the program I recommended. Trust me, many people start with working out just their arms, but they won't put on any size until they get a decent routine with compound lifts included. That's what I've seen in my years at the gym.


Any comments DoTW?