BodyBuilding-Advice and Discussion

[s13dan]

What it says. Tips and advice on exercises, technique, diet, supplements, and general gym talk. I am a relative novice to body building but I am learning as I go. I am becoming more interested in it the more I grow. It's fun to get healthy.


NOW, for my question.
I need tips on how to gain some muscle mass. I am a hardgainer, I have been working out pretty steady for about a year. I was taking a whey protein, a simple creatine, and some sort of sugar amino stuff (DSG?) it helped me heal extremely fast. It worked. I am now taking break from supplements, but I am still working out, more like maintaining.

I want to pack on muscle when I come back. With supplements and some serious determination. I have read you should gain a pound a workout cycle(week).


For me I have somewhat neglected doing leg workouts, but I do run everyday.


-Hardgainer tips I have found,

-Workout cycle- More rest is needed to heal. Like 10-12 day workout cycle instead of 7 day schedule. Muscles grow while resting.

-Legs- If you workout your legs your entire body becomes geared more for muscle growth. Its all about the hormones.

-Trash Cardio- Your body only has some much energy it can effectively exert everyday. Use it for building muscle instead of your heart and lungs.


Any advice would be appreciated!!!!

[Dazzla]

Hardgainer here too. Main thing for me is eating right and clean, and hitting the gym hard 5-6 times a week.

Supplement wise I take a pre-workout like Jack3d and then protein or a weight gainer usually. I've put on like 20-25 lbs and used to be 130 lbs! Been working out for 2-2.5 years though.

[DisEpyon]

Scoobys Home Bodybuilding Workouts

Pretty much everything you need to know/basics. Yeah some of his videos are a bit cheezy but there good to watch non the less and read everything on the site, it will help educate too. I hardly knew little to non about working out until i came across this website.

[s13dan]

YEA! I have seen scooby on youtube. Good information, sometimes a lil cheezy, but whatever.

I do need to work on my diet. I do not eat right, its kinda expensive to. "Built motors wont run very good on 87 octane" -what my friend says. Which is funny because I have cooked professionally for years, so no excuse really.

[Pactin]

I'm on the same boat as you, relatively new but I see obvious results over tr past 6 months. I took muscle milk as a preworkout supplement.

In terms of cardio, it tends to lean you out a bit so you will lose a bit of mass.

[kingkilburn]

The best cardio for me is swimming. You build your heart and lungs while also gaining some serious muscle stamina.

I can't due running and biking to much due to a bad knee so swimming is right up my ally as well.

[t_rempel]

I've learned from reading and experience that if you want to put on mass, you need to eat a ton, and give your body time to recover. Major compound movements such as squats, deadlifts and press' work wonders. I'm 6'3" and I went from 190 to 200 in less than 2 months. I trained three times per week.

[revat619]

Diet is SUPER important. I can't stress this enough. That and adequate rest are probably the most important things in gaining real muscle mass.

Figure out how many calories you need to take in just to maintain your current body weight and then up that by 500. If that's not enough, add more calories. BUT when i say calories, i mean QUALITY calories. There's 1600 calories in a western 6 dollar burger from carls jr, but that shit is gonna do nothing for you. Lean meats, brown rice, whole grains, potatoes, etc...you get the idea.

As far as supplements, a good protein supplement is all you really need, but if you wanna go the creatine route as well, go with creatine ethyl ester NOT monohydrate. Monohydrate makes you retain water. Yeah you'll look bigger, but you wont be putting on any real weight and as soon as you stop taking the stuff, you'll lose mass. Ethyl ester on the other hand is beneficial in muscle contraction and energy production and doesn't give you the water retention.

Weight gainers are cool for calories and what not, but they tend to have a lot of cholesterol and if you're not doing ANY cardio this can obviously be detrimental to your cardiovascular health. And you'll put on fat weight and not real lean muscle mass. My advice on these would be to use them in moderation and make sure you get in at least some cardio. If you're eating enough and its the right stuff, you really dont need a weight gainer.

Personally, I use AfterShock as a post work out supplement. Its a weight gainer, BUT i use it primarily for the amount of protein and carbs it gives me after i've pretty much destroyed myself on the track and in the weight room . I'm a college track and field athlete (100 meters and 200 meters) and i do more cardio in a day then most people do in a week so the cholesterol isn't as much an issue for me than it would be for someone else. But i also have to do a lot of heavy weight lifting and power lifting. I have to take in around 3500 - 4000 calories a day just to stay at race weight and keep my muscle mass (165 lbs. - 170 lbs.) Trying to eat that much food is annoying and expensive. And honestly, sometimes i'm just not that hungry. So i just use a shake as a way to get the calories i need for the day.

Oh and LEGS LEGS LEGS. Simply running isn't enough. You've gotta lift with your legs too, just like you would with your upper body. Like you mentioned, you activate testosterone production with heavy lifting with the legs, so do them! It'll help your gains all around. Plus, it looks dumb to be all swole up top and have toothpicks for legs. lol

Sorry that was so long winded, but i hope it helps! I'm around this kinda stuff all the time, plus my brother is a personal trainer and he's big as hell. lol

[t_rempel]

Originally Posted by revat619

diet and other detail

This guy knows his stuff.

[s13dan]

Sweet, Thanx revat, that's what I wanted. Advice from someone about my size and knows whats up. I will def crack down on my diet, though I doubt I will need the calories that you do. Im 6'2 and looking to hit 180, and bench my weight in sets. Then find some new goals.

I never really had a set workout, I would just do chest/arms one day, then maybe back and shoulders another, then legs or run. I will start squatting and dead lift as a part of my routine. I could tell when I rested longer I would be able to lift more and REALLY feel it the next day, in a good way. My friend, which I worked out with frequently, hit the gym way too ofter for me. I tried to explain to him more rest equals more muscle, he didn't get it.

And I was taking monohydrate, the product even explains that it helps you hold water. I thought it helped, half placibo and when I was puffed up. I will try the other kind.

Anyone used a test booster?? I have heard good things, but dot want to mess up my hormones or become a moody bitch.

[HyperTek]

I been meaning to try the German Volume Training, suppose to build up fast
http://www.simplyshredded.com/german...-strength.html

Right now I do 6 miles a day on my fixed gear bike *tho i havent been constant with it lately due to weather*. Cut down alot of food and shredded some weight.

I am taking Creatine Monohydrate *1000g , a teaspoon a morning should last about 100days according to what i ready on bodybuilding.com*
Whey Protein on the days Im gonna lift and work out hard.
Multi vitamins pack.
Fish Oil Omega 3 1000mg
I been unemployed for the longest so thats my budget on suppliments.

Work out equipment :
adjustable dumbbells.

Outside I have a gold's gym bench w/olympic size plates and barbell. Usually after my bike ride, Ill jump on this.

Inside I got my old soloflex muscle machine that i had for like over 10+ years. Was in storage but i recently pulled it back out.
I recently adapted weight plates to it with olympic plate adapters. Soo much better.
http://i52.tinypic.com/14ke8hw.jpg
This is what they look like when fitted with wieghts, best thing ever
YouTube - Soloflex Hybrid. The first video.
You can find them cheap if you want one on craigslist, they use rubber resistance bands so alot of people give them negative feedback but once you fit it with weights its not bad.

With my home equipment I can do bench press, military press, butterflies, leg curls, leg press, squats, bicep curls, dips, Pretty much all I need, than the cardio workout from my bike.

Id love to go to the gym but I cant afford it right now. I think just going to the gym gives you the motivation to push hard, where as at home you get kind of lazy on it.

Resistance bands are good to have too. I sit at the end of my soloflex with it wrapped around the the back and I can just do air punches/extension with it.

[s13dan]

I have read the way to gain mass is how you do your sets.
You start with a set of ten, then add wieght and do a set of 8, then add weight and do a set of six. Then a final set where you can only lift the weight once or twice without help. I read it is important to keep track of Total weight lifted and try to increase it slightly every time you work out. Example, for easy math- 3 sets of 10 of 100lbs. Which is 3,000lbs of total lifting. So next time add like a 5lbs, so its 105lbs. and 3,150lbs. 150 more pounds, It's the method I'm going to try.

The German way sounds opposite. 10 sets of ten? Seems like a way to get cut. I will read on, Arnold knew some shit. I read somewhere he never counted his sets, he just lifted till it hurt.

[HyperTek]

speaking of arnold
http://www.simplyshredded.com/motiva...-champion.html

[revat619]

Reps matter but like whats been mentioned, its how much weight in relation to your max that you're actually moving. And of course how many sets.

I saw considerable gains in the phase of my lifting where i was doing 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, BUT i was lifting moderate to heavy weight. (As a sprinter you not only have to have muscular power, but muscular endurance as well.) In my current phase though, everything is 4 sets of 8, but its all heavy and more power oriented. Personally, my muscles respond better to higher reps, but that's just me.

As a general rule though, i'd say 8-10 reps for mass / 12-15 reps or more for definition. Make sure though that when you're doing low reps, the amount of weight you're doing is enough to get a burn on numbers 6,7, and 8 (or 8,9 and 10). If its easy on your last rep, you're not lifting enough. And the same goes for high reps. If its so light to where you're not really getting a burn at number 15 or whatever, you're not lifting enough. Do the most you can do, but WITH PROPER FORM AND FULL RANGE OF MOTION.

[s13dan]

LOL I'm watching Arnolds bio right now. Pretty interesting.

I think that website is geared for experienced body builders. Or guys that are already Huge. I have seen and read stuff that I know wont work for me, intended for professional.

I call working out, getting hurt. The whole point is the pain.
Right now in my down time I'm really working on my form. I am also concentrating on my sets, to see what works for me.

[JohnnyDrfiter22]

Iv been woring out past 6 months steadily. I eat tons of protein iv lost 35lbs of fat and gained about 18% muscle all around. I keep my diet simple, cuz i hate cooking all the time.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Hardboil eggs
Snack: 2 hrs later fruit, protein bar
Lunch: whatever i want but i keep it somewhat protein and healthy
Pre workout shake: i take Pro Nos
Work out heavy
Post workout; Pro Nos and Omega 3
Dinner: Chicken, fish, steak and some brown rice and veggies

Now that I lost quite a bit of weight im going to start taking Amped, and a muscle builder protein.

[KingKong8247]

Best I've ever heard someone talk about how important diet is for gaining weight, he said "imagine the body weight you want to be at and eat like you are at that weight".

If you want to gain mass and strenght, focus on the 4 main lifts.
Squat, deadlift, bench and over-head press. Lift these heavy and do assistant exercises afterwards varying them every few weeks.

I started training around 2 years ago. After a few months I was ready to start deadlifting. I remember barely being able to do 185 but I just hit 405 a few weeks
ago. I weigh in around 180.

I have more of a power lifting mindset though.

Jim Wendler's 5-3-1 program does wonders for people as well.

[HyperTek]

Im going to need to make a work out schedule because im just all over the place with work outs.

[s13dan]

Church, I'm going to make one tomorrow. Ill post it up, see how it works for me. My goal is to get my body into a weight gaining mode and keep it there.

[Bubbles]

If you're a true ecto then eating clean doesn't matter in the slightest.

Fast food has tons of carbs and tons of protein, it's actually one of the best things for gaining weight, shit ton of sodium though.

Also, the more I eat, the quicker my muscles heal.

[MikeisNissan]

Pics of zilvians sexy bods or bust.

[Bubbles]

First time I lifted in 2 or 3 months today, guranfuckingteed I look better than anyone on this site.


That's right.

[drftwerks]

stop being a pussy and use the juice.com

[ineedone]

Needle in the butt. Than tons of guys will love you

[510-SR20DET]

My suggestion is get off the internet and go to the gym, period.

[s13dan]

LOL, yeammmK, I will spent every waking moment at the gym.

I am scary motivated, I have never been as mentally focused on a goal as I am with lifting.

Testosterone Booster, anyone used them??? I'm thinking about trying them.

[zeitgeist]

Push-ups help a ton. After a year my chest, back, and arms have grown substantially

Im not into taking supplements either or spending tons of money on protein shakes and all that crap. I do however eat alot. I eat fast food all the time but even it out with alot of vegetables and lean meats. A glass of milk after a hard workout is great for recovery also.
I probably work out once every four days just because im not into it but when i do go I go pretty intense. Full body workouts with alot of running

5'10, 185. My body is pretty much solid

Please work out your legs!!! Dont be one of THOSE guys that has bigger biceps than his legs! haha

[WISH ONE]

can we merge this thread with the mens health supplement thread?

Drop sets have been working for me.
Example curls 50lbs/45lbs 6-8reps then 40/35 6-8 reps 30/25 6-8 reps 20/15 15 reps. and then back to the heaviest again with 2 more 6-8 rep sets.
The 1 second up 3 seconds down, negative focused techinque has been working out great to0.
Form is everything.

[HyperTek]

Originally Posted by DisEpyon

Scoobys Home Bodybuilding Workouts

Pretty much everything you need to know/basics. Yeah some of his videos are a bit cheezy but there good to watch non the less and read everything on the site, it will help educate too. I hardly knew little to non about working out until i came across this website.

im checking out the site, good stuff.. his body doesnt match what you would expect from seeing his face lol

[maxed1]

Originally Posted by s13dan

LOL, yeammmK, I will spent every waking moment at the gym.

I am scary motivated, I have never been as mentally focused on a goal as I am with lifting.

Testosterone Booster, anyone used them??? I'm thinking about trying them.

Most of the test boosters are bullshit, DHEA is a supplement that works, 200 grams of protien a day , plenty of water , sleep , Give muscle groups plenty of rest between excercise days, Don't smoke if you're trying to gain weight because it is a appitite killer, Size does not come overnight even with a needle in your ass.