Thread: Building Muscle/Working out

I dont know if i would agree that bench press can be substituted with dips...yes dips will work your traps great...more than a bench...but bench will work your chest...way more than dips...

Two words for skipping bench...

PUSH UPS...do them with all types of stances...wide narrow hands turned in hands turned out...feet elevated...master the pushup and you will see yourself gain...

Lunges are great...do them forward step and reverse step...also step ups onto a chair are good...

if you have the straight bar ... do dead lifts...but do them with a straight back and keep your back verticle and just bend at your knees and squat down to pick the weight up...us your legs...this is also a good workout...

the other thing you could do....i hate to say it but join a gym...

they have all the equip you need.

Originally Posted by erictski

I
PUSH UPS...do them with all types of stances...wide narrow hands turned in hands turned out...feet elevated...master the pushup and you will see yourself gain...

+1

This is what I try to do almost daily.

One day I do pushups to whatever rep count I can reach, but at a low speed so as to maximize the efficiency of the workout. I do this 2 or 3 days in a row, and then skip a day.

I have also started doing 1 handed pushups again. In addition to being arm workouts, they also train your entire torso, because your body has to excercise torque in order to maintain balance.

I usually finish each workout with 30 or 40 twisted sit-ups: the resting position is halfway (45 deg) then I come up with my right elbow to the left knee, go down, and then with the left elbow to the right knee. I twist at the down point, because then I also use the side muscles of my torso. Twisting in the up position is pointless because you only use the front abs.

And finally, I lay on my stomach and curve my back so that my shoulders and feet lift from the ground. I do this only 10 reps, and mainly just in order to balance my abs. I found that if I only excercise my abs, I tend to hunch forward when sitting at my desk.

Originally Posted by Bruno

One day I do pushups to whatever rep count I can reach, but at a low speed so as to maximize the efficiency of the workout. I do this 2 or 3 days in a row, and then skip a day.

You should give your muscles time to rest between workouts. I was doing BIG benchpress days M/W/F, but didn't show any improvement. I swapped to Sat/Sun and Wednesday for my big bench days, and it jumped up drastically.

This is because your muscles need 48-72 hours to recoup and rebuild, and if you interrupt that, you impede your progress. If it's working for you (which, one handed pushups, it might be), keep it up, but this is generally advised against.

As far as GENERAL FITNESS and building muscle, there are a few keys:
Drink LOTS of water, get LOTS of sleep, and give your muscles time to rest. Don't waste time in the gym, and eat a lot of protein (about 1g/1lb of body weight). I weigh in at 190lbs, I aim for about 185g of protein a day (2 chicken breasts, peanut butter sandwich, protein shake makes it pretty close).

Do all that, spreading out your meals. Eat almonds when you eat yogurt to help absorb the calcium and protein (almonds are a good source of good fat, as are avocados).

Again, I recommend "The Abs Diet" book for men. Six weeks I dropped 15 lbs, and added a ton of muscle in the process. Get the perfect pushup too for your chest / arms, and lift a heavy bag of dog food while in a bent-over position for your back, do squats / deadlifts for your legs / back and you're done (poor man's version).

As always, PM with questions...

chadd ---------------- Now playing: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Naked Sun via FoxyTunes

I am gonna second the rest factor.

When I am going for bulk...then my biggest gains come from working out 5 days a week taking sat and sunday off...one body part per day...so i get a full week rest for each body part...

if im going for more a leaning out phase and fat burning i go for maybe more of an overall body workout or body part grouping and maybe give two to three days of rest between each different workout.

I also found that eating eggs a couple of times per week makes me have less stiffness in my muscles after a heavy workout.

Here's a tip if you are someone who likes raw eggs: wash them before you crack them.
My wife worked at a microbiology lab where they did tests for the health inspection, and she says that virtually always, salmonella is on the outside of the egg. Not the insive, which is free from contamination. So wash the eggs with warm water before you crack them, and the risk of salmonella should drop significantly.

Also before you use each egg, look for cracks. I regularly find eggs with a cracked shell. The only safe thing you can do with such eggs is thrown them away, or bake / cook them through and through to kill any possible salmonella. Using a cracked egg raw is like playing russian roulette. The odds are probably better, but salmonella is really not a laughing matter.

Originally Posted by erictski

I am gonna second the rest factor.

...

if im going for more a leaning out phase and fat burning i go for maybe more of an overall body workout or body part grouping and maybe give two to three days of rest between each different workout.

I've done the fat burning and leaning out. M/W/F full body, rest the muscles other days, and run on off days. Sunday's a day off entirely (or saturday).

I'm doing bulk right now, but I'm slowly switching back to leaning out. Lots of stretching and yoga helps this a TON.

Good advice all around!

I would advise buying 2 dozen eggs a week. Hard-boil half, and eat 2 hard boiled a day (afternoon snack for me, with almonds), and cook the other half in the mornings. I do 2 eggs w/ garlic and mozzarella and spinach on wheat, sometimes with turkey or chicken. Delicious and nutricious.

Everything I've advised on fat burning / leaning out is directly from the Abs Diet for Men. Google it, get it. It's workouts, recipies, and the science to back it up. It's not a "don't eat this," type of thing...When I was on it (six weeks), I had a BIG beer and buffalo wings for dinner every friday, and still lost 15lbs, while bulking up!

---------------- Now playing: The Arcade Fire - The Well And The Lighthouse via FoxyTunes