<slaps you> Not sure if I should come in to defend them against a preceived attack or if this was just sarcasm... Anyways, I'm now starting to do 10 reps with fifteen pound dumbbells.
Rest easy, Link. It is not an attack, nor is it sarcasm. It means what you think it means - I trust - and having read yagr's posts, he will take it for the playful banter that it is. I included a smiley to be on the safe side, though this was more for the forum's benefit than yagr's, who is very much a man of the world. I think Kyle is likely saying, and I'd agree, that curls - or any other exercise that targets a muscle or a limited number of muscles - are not especially productive. Lifts or exercises that place demands on a large number of muscles (and that perhaps might require co-ordination and balance etc etc) - like squats - are much more productive.
They help a bit, but it's better to focus on compound exercises like shoulder press etc. But if you like them, do them, just don't expect curls alone to get you anywhere
Well, I've given up on running (again) because I just can't fit it into my schedule. Up shot is that I've NOT given up on lifting, and I'm now more than a month into the new routine. Back to 3 times a week every week. No exceptions (yet), although I may miss tomorrow because of a back injury...
The past three weeks I'm back playing football, and I got a six month gym membership practically for free through my university bursary, so I'm training most days. Really psyched for getting fit and this is the healthiest I've felt in a long time, even though I've got a lot to improve on. There's no better feeling!
Have just got a new personal trainer. Am now benching 60kg, 8 x 3. I hope it's possible to build muscle on a calorie deficit, though...
Gallow, no, you need to eat more because otherwise your body will eat the muscle away. =[ Good for you for investing in your health via a personal trainer, though. I just got back from weight training. It was fun.
Hate to state the obvious but if you want to build muscle while doing weights, you need protein...Lots of it. Eats fillets of chicken like there's no tomorrow or else buy those supplements
Yes it is. More difficult, necessarily. Plenty of links - scientific and anecdotal - if you want them.
It's faster and easier to just bulk (eat a surplus) and then lean out later. Muscle burns calories while idle, so adding muscle mass makes leaning out easier.
People who run on treadmills for 2 hours also tend to burn off muscle. The majority of a workout should be weight training, with a little bit of cardio after. When you build muscle, more of your food will go toward sustaining that muscle rather than fat, which helps keep fat off. Doing nonstop cardio and getting that ultra-skinny look ruins your muscle buildup and therefore sets a person up to gain fat later.
It's apparently possible if you eat 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight, and do 8 reps in 3 sets to increase hypertrophy. I guess I'll see
Hey guys, I'm back. Sadly I got very lazy in the winter and stopped...just about everything. Luckily I did not put on *too* much weight, but I did lose precious muscle. Getting back into the swing of things again. Past couple weeks been meeting with a running group, tonight we're doing sprints. When I get my stamina back I would like to do my gym circuit workouts again. At one point I felt like Captain America, it was great. Boy those were the days >_> What have I missed??? Gallow! My celtic warrior, good to see you're still here and working out buddy
Yep, just spoken with my personal trainer. I've now decided that I'm going to do this properly. Not a full-on body-builder, but more than sculpted... A bit like this. I think I've finally found a work-out I can stick with. I can post my diet and work-out routine if anyone's interested.
What an unflattering haircut on that guy... Stronglifts 5x5 and starting strength 5x5 are both great starting programs. Hey Jon! It comes back fast man. I'll be within 50lbs of my all-time-best squat weight this Friday.
Gallow, yeah man, post it, I'm interested. Comparing your profile picture to the one you posted I can tell you right now that you don't need any fancy diets, you simply need to eat EVERYTHING. I'm talking like 5000 calories and 200 g of protein a day. You'll have to build up to that, obviously, but just stuff as much down as possible. Your high metabolism (which I'm assuming you have) and your hypertrophy workouts (which your trainer should be teaching you) will keep your gut in check. Also try some supplements like creatine (simple creatine monohydrate, it's cheap) and weight gainer (blend up shakes with frozen berries and milk). Pre work outs are fun too, check out NO XPLODE, 1MR, or Super Pump. Your trainer will probably bash taking supps, but it seems to me that you're after the image, and let me tell you, this shit works, especially the creatine and pre workouts. I go totally fuckin' crazy in the gym after I take a scoop of 1MR, or mix up some NO with Super Pump. You'll get an incredible pump and you'll feel like you could punch a hole through a concrete wall! For more advanced stuff check out the Animal products, I swear by them.
Or use a proven program and make slow but constant gains. Save all the money you would have spent on supplements and buy more food I added over 100lbs to my squat/deadlift weight and the only supplement I used was whey protein (because 160+ grams from diet only is pretty tough to hit). Find what works best for you and do it. The most important part is going to the gym/lifting around 3 times a week.
Ahh I agree, you will make gains doing it the old fashioned way, but in this day and age it's hard to ignore the obvious advantages in the magic potions at your local GNC or Pop Eye's. How long did it take you to put that 100lbs on your squat? I threw on a plate + 35 per side for my max bench in 3 months with NO XPLODE, Mutant Mass and Animal Stack (no creatine). Hence why I swear by the stuff.
Cal: 2700 (maintenance is 2100) Carbs: 315 Fat: 109 Protein: 150 (which I'm aware is a little on the high side for a 5''8' 149lb guy such as myself) That mostly comes from eggs, steak, pasta, brown rice, tuna, venison, salmon, lentils, soya, beans, almonds, and cheese. I think mine's about average, actually. I've not been skinny or skinny fat for years, and I lose about a pound a week on a 20% reduction from maintenance. I don't use supplements as yet, but thinking of using Optimum Nutrition Whey and Casein.
It was a linear program so 15lbs/week until I reached my mark. FWIW 180lbs spread over 3 months is about 15lbs per week Protein supplements, of all sorts, are good cheap ways to hit your protein numbers.
I'm just at the start of a "getting fit" journey. I'm not looking necessarily at getting a builder body but more at having a middle balanced body, not skinny/not very muscular but just kind of healthy because at this point I'm as skinny as a stick... I'm also quite tall, I think about 190cm . Been a while since I've measured my height. That's why I also get back problems. Now, I don't plan on going to gym. I will just be doing a home workout thingy. I am motivated at last to do this and will keep it up! I would like some suggestions as in what kind of exercises should I focus more on. Pushups is a first anyway, just as a personal thing. Can barely do 15-20 atm (laugh all you want!) I've also been exploring some sites for getting fit, and I've seen a suggestion of eating kcal x20 my body weight. I think I should probably do that. I've also been looking through this thread and seen lots of useful stuff. I have to admit this post is more of a motivation to myself... Suggestions are welcome! Thanks.
HarryBard, I would suggest giving a program called p90x a try as a start (not sure if it's been mentioned yet, I didn't read a lot of this thread). All the advertisement for it made me think it was another useless money maker but no, it really works. If you keep following the program and the eating tips, you will get results. It's tough for some people but with determination it's not bad at all. Shit I did it and I went running for 30 min everyday after doing it, and while I try to stay in the best shape my body lets me, I'm not a gym freak either, so anyone can do it if they really want to get results.
Thanks Henning, I might try that Been looking over couple of guides and stuff.. It's hard work anyway!
