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.

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.

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.

sounds like you are a busy man...

If you like superpump try MRI Blackpowder...if you havent yet i would suggest you try it ...i like that one alot...no jitters...no stomach ache and good pump ...

Here's a link to the program I'm on:

20 Months to a Champion Physique - by Bill Pearl - Bill Pearl Enterprises, Inc.

It is probably more frequency than I'll be able to keep up for to long, but if you want to be a bodybuilder and lift for life, it gives you a bunch of different exercises structured to build you up from never having lifted before to safely lifting a lot, often. It also helps you try out a bunch of different exercises so you learn what works for you.

Don't forget muscles grow when you are sleeping not in the gym.

The only thing about squats is that if you haven't been athletic in a while you should work up to them, this is for the older lurkers out there, you won't have the flexibility, or the back strength to get the most benefit from them without building up to them, that what I like about the above program, he puts you through a few months of exercises that build the necessary flexibility and accessory strength to really benefit from the big movement before introducing them. A lot of guys just dive right in and do them but while that works when young it hurts when you get old, and can even cause injury.

I also don't go in for much in the way of supplementation, just vitamins, joint support (I'd take these even if I didn't work out) and protein. Again if you are just starting out, eating many meals throughout the day is an ideal, as is a very controlled calorie count and specific macro's, but if you start out trying to do everything right you are more likely to burn out and do nothing right. I'd make one dietary change a month until you are eating the way you should. for instance give up pop and drink water could be a goal for a month. Then next month split you lunch into two separate smaller meals. That way you will slowly build perfect habits you will stick with over the long term.

I work out at home with my wife as my workout partner, we're on the same program, just different weights. I never liked crowds, so going to the gym pretty much sucked even when there was a decent one close to where I lived.

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.