Thread: Building Muscle/Working out

Since we are mostly men here I thought I would throw out this topic. Working out!

I am a 25 year old man that considers himself pretty fit. I currently hit the gym 4 or 5 days a week.

Just wondering if anyone else out there is like me and has any good tips, programs, or anything else that may help others who would like to or are currently workinig out.

when I am not in the process of moving as I currently am, I generally lift about 3 times a week, and do cardio once or twice. (need to do that more, I know)

if you want to get strong, the absolute best thing in the world is squats. nothing else will make your whole body strong like squats will.

When I was 25 I also worked out 3-5 times a week.



I'm now 42 however, and haven't seen the gym in a while!

Hi,

I've used every kind of gym equipment over the past few decades. Without a doubt the best equipment is one of the oldest. Maybe the straight razor of the workout. I have found kettlebells to be the most versatile piece of kit I have ever used. You need to find a good instructor. I just wish I'd discovered them thirty years ago.

I started weight training in the 70's. I've been a member of Bill Pearl's gym in Pasadena, Brignole's Gym in Pasadena, and the original World Gym in Santa Monica (this was the one Joe Gold opened after he sold Gold's). I was a member of LA Fitness for many years until I got tired of getting colds and the flu. I now have my own home gym set up (now the only nastiness I have to worry about on gym equipment is my own).

Best tips I can give you are:

1) Be realistic about your goals - not everyone is genetically gifted to be a Ronnie Coleman (he'd be a big man even if he didn't lift, or use "other" things). You might be more of a Frank Zane. Just be the best YOU. At 25 you still have the advantage with plenty of endogenous hormones circulating.

2) Stay natural - drugs may give you fantastic results in the short term (very tempting when you are a young stud), but you may pay a heavy price in the long run (very regretable when you are older and hopefully wiser).

3) Use common sense and don't fall for all of the marketing hype that saturates the fitness industry. Do your homework. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember - most supplements come from good old whole foods. Don't throw your money away.

4) Stay basic with your training. Use compound exercises to maximise time and muscles incorporated. Squats, benches, dips, pull-ups, and dead-lifts (assuming no back injuries) should be the foundation of your program.

5) Have fun and don't go overboard - you'll burn out fast. Remember that rest is just as, if not more, important as training. Don't always lift heavy. Lighten it up once in a while.


Scott

Good tips so far from everyone and I will definitely agree with jockeys about the squats.

I am a free weight guy. Have bought various workout programs from a few fitness sites. I will give the links for the ones i have and I will say that if followed they do give results.

My biggest problem is the nutrition. Not enough consistancy...good one week horrible the next.

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It has been a few years since I hit the gym with any intent, but here some of the things I think are important. I am old-school, so please forgive me for what might sound like a rant/lecture.

In my opinion, free weights help develop stabiliser muscles and balance and encourage correct range of motion and extension. Machines have their place, but I never used them to develop strength. Proper form is vital with free weights - cheating can slip in on machines and increase the risk of injury, particularly if you are using them for heavy work. I am talking things like smith machines for benching, military presses, or squats, for example.

As well as squats, dead lifts also develop core strength. Keep good form or expect to kill your back.

I used to do light days and heavy days. Plus I used to do one body part or muscle group per workout. I think if you are starting out, a more holistic programme is more beneficial.

Heavy days were power lifting type stuff - squats, deadlifts, shrugs, bench etc. Low reps, high weight. Light days were the shaping and burning type stuff - high reps, low weight, supersets, short recovery breaks etc.

It is also massively important, for overall symmetry and aesthetics, and general strenght, to try very hard not to fixate on those parts of your body that develop faster or are stronger than other parts. Lots of lifts use multiple muscle groups. For example, the bench press involves the pecs but also incorporates the delts too. At best fixating on your "good" bits will make you look out of symmetry, and limit your potential to lift heavier. At worst, you could injure yourself badly.

And of course a good mix between the anaerobic and aerobic excercises is essential. And diet. Cannot stress the importance of diet enough. Diet that is appropriate to your excercise goals. A diet that provides sufficient energy to allow you to do what you are doing, suffiecient nutrients to allow reasonable recovery time etc. A bodybuilder's six-pack is hard to see under a 3 inch layer of torso fat.

James.

I simply carry a handgun everywhere I go. It makes me feel like the strongest man in the world!

But seriously, I think I've got a pretty good frame. I have no interest in bulking up, but being "fit" or "ripped" would be good.

Jimbo I couldnt have said it better myself. I am still relatively young but consider myself pretty educated in weightroom warfare.

I see so many guys in the gym each week and they have two routines...bi's/tri's and then chest. And to see guys lift legs is so rare. I dont know why but no one does it. Granted I hate leg days but i feel great the next day.

Also I noticed that soo many people think an hour of cardio is gonna get them thinner when really you need to build that muscle base first...cuz its the muscle that burns that fat and burns it all day as opposed to cardio which just burns for the hour you are at the gym...

and O yeah...hammer the PROTEIN...chicken fish eggs protein shakes...protein is a calorie burning food so dont forget to pound the protein especially post workout.

I've been lifting pretty seriously for about, 20 years. I don't have much advice or real zeal for a thread on the subject.

For me I was a marathon runner in the mid-80s and transitioned over to lifting. I needed more bulk. I do not train all my muscle groups with enough balance. Things change dramatically after you turn 40, rest time wise.

I used to work two muscle groups out, once or twice a week. I've always needed/used lots of off-time for growth. Turning 40 made the problem worse.

Lately I've been working mutliple body parts twice a week based on the theory that growth hormones are released by specific muscle groups when worked. We'll see in a few months.

My only advice would be to eat often, min 7 meals a day, minimum. Keep your aerobics up so you don't get fat. Big is great, fat and big kinda sucks. I've been using a Nitros Oxide supplement which is great for an energy boost before working out. I use something called "Superpump 250". Its a rockin' supplement.

So, 7 meals a day, protein at every meal and two good work outs a week lifting, with lots of rest, offset with atleast one good quality aerobics session a week. Thats what I do. Mind you I'm also a full time Executive, government consultant, and grad school student. Some of the grown-up cr*p gets in the way.