Gym Junkie Diets?

[Chalkie]

Ok, Ive got a few questions for you.

Why do you want to go to the gym? Is it to get big to look good? Or is it for your riding in particular? Do you want to be really lean and 'cut up'? How much time are you prepared to put into achieving your goals?

Okay. I'll give you the facts. I'm 17, currently about 66kg and about 179cm tall. I would probably say that I'm about your average build. My primary reason for going to gym is for appearance rather than to help my riding, but I suppose my riding will improve as a bi-product

In going to gym because I want to mainly fill out. Round my shoulders, bulk my arms, and fill out my chest. I also want to build strength but guess that will come naturally. I figured that I would try bulk up first, and when i was happy with my size, start working on toning muscle. Basically I'm aiming to bulk up and tone.

I went through a routine with a trainer and told him I wanted to build muscle. He didn't seem too specific, but the machines he's put me on seem good. At the moment I'm doing machines not free weights and am doing the following excercises:

• Pec Fly
• Compound Row
• Bicep Curls
• Tricep Machine
• Leg Press
• Leg Extension (quads)
• Leg Curl (Hamstrings)
• Ab machine
• Vertical Chest Press (basically the same as bench)
• Lateral Raise

I find the routine to be good and it appears to be doing all the major muscle groups. The total workout usually takes about 45-60 minutes. Everyone I've spoken to so far suggests a protein shake, and to take it after you work out. So this looks like the way to go. I found this on bodybuilding.com which seems logical.

"The post-workout meal you need to be taking in around 45-50 grams of protein. Add in one to two times that amount of carbohydrates (90-100 grams). If you are a hard-gainer, make it closer to 2 with most all of them coming from simple sources. If you tend to gain weight easily, then it's better to stay closer to the equivalent of the amount of protein and make it half simple, half complex sources."

I'm still unsure about sets and reps. I'm thinking maybe try finding a weight where the 8th rep is my absolute max - stay on that weight till I can make 10 reps - then increase the weight so I go back to the 8th rep being the max. Remember that I want to bulk but also tone at the same time. However for now bulk is the priority.

 

[chelsea_fan7]

maybe you should try a split program if you really wanna target specific areas...
like say if you to the gym 3 days a week on one of the days hit your chest/back and do like 3 exercise for each muscle group eg.

chest: DB bench press, DB incline bench press and then maybe some flyes either flat or incline

back: bent over rows, lat pull down or chin ups, reverse flyes

and then on another days do arms and then the last day your legs/shoulders using like 3 exercises for each muscles group.

then if theres still some time after each session maybe chuck in like 5 or 10 mins of abs

and to keep the workouts interesting change it up between using DB and BB

if you find you lacking energy maybe experiment with some creatine monohydrate if you really wanna get into it.

id probs reccomend like 3-4 sets of 8 or so reps and to find out what weight you should use if you were doing 4 sets you would want to get all 8 reps out on the first 3 sets then maybe only get like 6-7 reps on the last set. then once you get all the reps on the last set maybe step the weight up a little...
hope that helps

 

[Chalkie]

Yeah i've read about that but after reading this it seems kind of pointless.

In our workout you isolate each bodypart THREE times per week with a full, heavy single set. You hit it on Monday, let it rest one day, hit it on Wednesday, let it rest, hit is on Friday and then give the poor muscle a two day break... before starting the cycle again. So we work our biceps (and all muscles) three full times per week which is 12 times per month. They work their biceps 12 times in 3 months! And they call us lazy...

Each muscle group, for one max set, where you cannot physically make the 11th rep. Has anyone tried this or know about it?

For now I think the best thing is to reduce my reps from 12max to 10max, and get a protein shake.

 

[ScottD]

I tried to go to the gym but felt so stupid standing in a room full of vein people lifting weights. I went for about 6 months, cut out alot of fat in my diet had a rugby coach help me and it went no where, maybe put on 3-4kg of muscle. Even after doing alot of running and riding legs havent got any bigger just more defined. I think my body type is just one that doesnt put on muscle.

 

[chelsea_fan7]

there are so many different methods out there you really gotta just experiment and find out which method gives you the best results but droping your reps down and upping the weight seems like a good place to start and then having a protein shake at the end of a workout couldn't hurt either

 

[alright]

alright, how do I put on weight? i'm so skinny and don't say eat maccas. I wanna put on a shitload in like no time haha. I already eat maccas and it does shit all.

cheers

 

[LTR]

Regarding how many sets and reps, i would even reduce it down further to about 8 reps max. The way you can tell how much weight to try is to do a full set of whatever weight you are testing, and make sure the most you can push out on the first set is 8 exactly. The 2nd you WONT be able to push out 8 again, and if you can, you werent trying hard enough. ALWAYS warm up with some light weights before doing this, because you can do damage to your muscles if you arent careful. So you might be able to do 8 bicep curls per arm on the first set, 7 on the 2nd, and 5 on the 3rd. This is great, it is meant to be difficult.

There are two main routines that are widely used by bodybuilders.
1. Do Back/Triceps one day, Chest/Biceps one day, Legs one day.
2. Separate Chest, Legs, Biceps, Triceps and Delts/Back.
I prefer no.2 because i feel i can work harder and focus on particular body parts.

The main exercises i reccomend include:
Chest - Bench Press/Incline Bench, Pec Press, Flys (all sorts of kinds)
Legs - Squats (these are the shiz niz in terms of legs), Leg press, Hamstring Curl etc
Biceps - Bicep Curls on the preacher bench and freely, Chin-ups, Hammer Curl
Triceps - Dips, Tricep Extension
Back/Delts - Seated Row, Lat Pull down, Military Press, Upright Row
Red are my most highly recommended. I havent added everything either - mainly stuff i can remember.

Grab a copy of Muscle and Fitness to get you going aswell, some good inspiration and tips.

There are so many different ways to get big, and they all work for different people. Remember all these tips have worked for me specifically, and wont necessarily work as well on you. I get the idea that you are of a similar inital build to me however. Try and not get too confused with training ideas, keep it simple!

ScottD, Running and Cycling wont give you major improvements to the size of your legs, they will only make your muscle more lean. You have to ignore everyone else at the gym. Pump up your ipod with some hardcore music and focus on what YOU are doing.

"Alight", read all the stuff above, it will apply to you.

Chelsea, I put the muscle on in just over 9 months now and still going. Should have 30kg by the end of the year, no worries. Ive been pretty heavy into protein and have been training 5 days a week most weeks.

 

[and1]

Ok, Ive got a few questions for you.

Why do you want to go to the gym? Is it to get big to look good? Or is it for your riding in particular? Do you want to be really lean and 'cut up'? How much time are you prepared to put into achieving your goals?

Basically everyone is different, its hard to say what you specifically should do. But speaking to a personal trainer is a good step (although most of them are so random with their exercises they assign you). You want to keep your training simple as possible in my mind, work on exercises which isolate your muscles to build specific areas, and work on compound exercises which work on many muscles in your body. As i said earlier, there is so much information on www.bodybuilding.com, its a fantastic database. Look at sample training schedules, and try different things to see what works for you.

On to protein, what ive found that works best is "Max's Daytime Protein, Lean". It comes in a high percentage of protein per serving, and mixes very well with milk, aswell as digesting quickly. It comes in at $1.30 per serving, and i recommend taking it as soon after your workout as possible, plus at breakfast time. 3kg is $130ish, and it is THE best thing you can do for muscle growth, ive made 5kg of muscle in less than a month before. It seems expensive, but if you think about it, the same serve of protein in a standard serving of chicken is about 50g, which is much harder to digest etc. Oh, and dont buy cheap protein, you will get SO much more out of good quality stuff. You get what you pay for.

If you have anymore questions, im happy to answer!

If your putting on that much "muscle" in one month, and have put on 22kg in total, I don't think thats going to be pure muscle weight. Try not working out for a month, you'll still have muscle but most of that weight you've put on is going to turn into fat if your relying that heavily on protein supplements for gaining mass.

Also your better off working a certain set of muscle groups each workout rather than doing a bit of everything. I go 5 times a week and I rotate between legs, chest and shoulders, biceps and triceps, and core body as well as some cardio on most days. If your working an hour on a set group of muscles you will also notice much better gains as well as building strength much quicker.

 

[LTR]

If your putting on that much "muscle" in one month, and have put on 22kg in total, I don't think thats going to be pure muscle weight. Try not working out for a month, you'll still have muscle but most of that weight you've put on is going to turn into fat if your relying that heavily on protein supplements for gaining mass.

Also your better off working a certain set of muscle groups each workout rather than doing a bit of everything. I go 5 times a week and I rotate between legs, chest and shoulders, biceps and triceps, and core body as well as some cardio on most days. If your working an hour on a set group of muscles you will also notice much better gains as well as building strength much quicker.

It is definately muscle weight, I ride road/track bikes compeditively and run aswell. The protein levels i have flush through my body if they are not used, it is not like a carb which will eventually turn to fat. It is not hard to put 5kg of muscle weight on, in your legs alone!

I also train seperating body parts.

 

[Chalkie]

Gym session this morning went really well.

Had Weetbix with Banana and half an orange for Brekie.

At gym I did the normal machines, but changed the sets and rep. Still doing three sets but this time drop sets.

First set, put the weights up so my max reps was 8 (physically couldn't make 9)
Second set, dropped the weights about 2-5kg so max reps again was 8
3rd set same again.

About a 1-2minute break between sets. Once I can make 10 reps I will step the weights up so my max is 8 again and continue.

The workout felt great. I didn't feel as fatigued but felt like I was really pushing myself. Unlike before were I was doing 12 reps, 3 sets of the same weight, were I would save all my energy for the last set - I put everything into each set. I think this seems like a good way to go and plan on doing with 3 days a week.

For now I will stick with the all over body work out each day. It seems kind of stupid to work each muscle group once a week, then let it have a 6 day rest period. I liked this explanation of why ...

"Think about when you build a callous on your hand. If you were to rub your hand until is was cut and started bleeding, then wait a week, then do it again, you would simply have a scar. On the otherhand, if you were to rub it a little each day or every other day, it would slowly build up a resistance to the rubbing, thus forming a protective callous. This is the same idea with our workout."

Will go and get some kind of protein shake over the weekend. Probably a whey protein. Any highly recommended brands and also what to steer clear of?

Once I get a little more confident I think I will start doing free weights (Annoying thing is you need someone to spot for a few excercies).

Anyway thanks for the tips so far, keep them coming.
Simon

 

[flying high dh killer]

alright, how do I put on weight? i'm so skinny and don't say eat maccas. I wanna put on a shitload in like no time haha. I already eat maccas and it does shit all.

cheers

I don't think anyone will say eat maccas because that's the wrong kind of weight to put on. Maybe eat steak??

 

[JDB]

Once I get a little more confident I think I will start doing free weights (Annoying thing is you need someone to spot for a few excercies).

Anyway thanks for the tips so far, keep them coming.
Simon

Sounds like you are on the way. Its best to start off 3 days a week, then build up if you enjoy it. I've always been told that you should really only do drop sets once a week, especially if your only giving your muscles 1 day recovery. I do 5 days a week, chest and back one day, arms shoulders and legs the other and rotate day to day. Its good to change the routine around a bit every few weeks. This keeps it interesting and develops the entire range of muscles. When you switch to free weights you will find you can do almost everything using dumbbells and won't need a spotter.

Just really concentrate of your technique. It’s more important to do an exercise properly, going to full extension on curls etc than trying to cheat just to lift a bigger weight. One final hint is to try doing big muscle set exercises like dead lifts, clean and press, and push presses once a week. They really work great at hitting large groups of muscles, and exercising big muscle groups like your legs/back/shoulders all in once go promotes extra testosterone production which in turn helps build more bulk.

 

[takai]

Ive really only started going to the gym again, but im hitting it pretty hard on the upper body, and letting riding take care of the lower (always had a good lower body from ice hockey, lacrosse, biking and running).

Gym workout looks vaguely like this, mixed up a bit with some bench press (when i can get to the machine), military press, and core work with a swiss ball at home.

• 3x8/9 32kg Incline Press
• 3x10 25kg Upright Row
• 3x10 55kg Squats
• 3x9 32kg Supported Row
• 3x10 60kg Abdominal Crunches
• 3x10 +10kg Bentover Reverse Crunches
• 3x10 32kg Pec/Lat Fly

Doing that usually Monday Thursday Friday, as the gym is onsite at work. And riding about 20km per day minimum.

Diet wise im pretty much pushing the protein down my throat on gym days, but not so much on non-gym days.
Breakfast is normally a 2stage before ride/gym and then after, being cereal/carbs before, and carbs/protein (egg sandwiches and tuna/salmon) after.
Lunches vary, as do dinners, but usually fresh veges, carbs and protein. Snacks are pretty universally either tuna or carrot sticks.

Any suggestions?

 

[punk_downhiller]

Quick question about protien shakes:

Is it okay to take the shake after doing weights, then do cardio straight after?

Or would I be better off taking the shake after my weights and cardio?

 

[Dim]

Take Creatine...... Its the shit.... Pumps me up, i train harder and longer. Put on size quick also


I take Creatine before i start my work out and Whey Protein after..... Its good