Man I’m glad this thread is back I have a few questions.
I only have access to free weights and not machines. What is the best exercise(s) to do to exercise your back, so I can get that nice V shape.
Also It seems the more I work out the more lean I get it.
Pardon the stupid analogy but it seems that no matter how much I work out I tend to develop more of a spiderman body type (lean and slender) I’m trying to get a Superman body type A little muscular but not way bulky. What I’m going for is a body type like the actor who plays Clark Kent in Smallville. not over the top body builder muscular.
Rows for back. Bent rows, and DB rows. Throw in pullups and you’re set.
Just something for people asking for advise. Please put up some stats, your current workout, and waht you eat daily. It’s kinda hard to help someone when all they say is they wanna put on muscle, or diet down.
Thanks for the tips Romie, i didnt know that pull ups work the back muscles, i only thought the were strictly for arms. Well, now I Know, and knowing is half the battle.
6’0" around 165lbs
My workout routine is Bench press, Squats, and Arm Curls on M W and F,
And Abs and legs on tuesdays and Thursdays.
I dont really do any cardio since I think I’m at a good weight for my height. I’f I’m wrong someone please let me know (maybe show me a site with a height weight ratio of what is healthy and what is not)
I eat Cereal in the mornings, for lunch i usually get a Chicken sandwich or a salad, and lately my dinners have been consisting of rice with beans and chicken.
Basically I want to get a little bigger(See my previous post on what body type i’m going for)
well getting bigger means gaining weight…and that means you need to eat a whole lot more…and I don’t mean more fruits and vegetables…I mean meats and eggs…romie can elaborate more…but first thing I see here is somebody who needs to eat alot more (calories) in order to gain some serious mass.
I used to weigh 200lbs.But since I ate 1800kcal a day AND played ddr for 4hrs.(2 in the mornin/nite)40push-ups,40sit-ups,75 jumping jacks everyday for 2weeks,I lost 20lbs.
I just started lifting and figured I’d check in with you guys. My goal is to lose weight and get into a more muscular shape, I’ve already got a pretty good diet in place (plenty of protein and carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables with very little junk food). Considering I’m a martial artist I want to be cut, but not bulky. Large enough muscles to be effective (and maybe show off) but not slow me down. Here’s the beginners routine I’ve started:
Crunches - 2 sets of 30
Leg Presses - 3 sets of 12 (50lbs.)
Leg Curls - 3 sets of 12 (I think it was about 20)
Dips - 3 sets of 10
One-arm dumbbell rows - 3 sets of 12 (15lbs, but I think today I might use 20, maybe not though)
Presses behind neck - 3 sets of 12 (20 lbs)
Triceps Pushdown - 3 sets of 12 (25 lbs)
Incline Curls - 3 sets of 12 (15 lbs)
Standing Calf Raises - 3 sets of 12 (Using 2 dumbbells at 15 lbs)
At some point I’m going to start introducing cardio, is there any recommended time to do so? I was thinking in maybe a week or two after I’ve built some of the muscle. Also for weight loss what kind of routine should I look into, since I’m thinking I’ll only use this for a month or two.
Guys, I have a problem…more than likely it’s just in my mind. Most of the time I feel really good about my size (weight: 152lbs, height: 5’5", waist: 30", biceps: 14 1/2" relaxed, 15" flexed, thighs: 23"), but when I see a taller buff dude, who’s naturally bigger because of his larger body, I feel like an inadequate toothpick for days. WTF?
Oh, yeah, almost forgot: I would like to reduce my waist back to 28" (pre-bulking size from a year ago), and currently am doing no cardio. How much is enough to get what I want and not interfere with muscle growth? My old routine before I decided I wanted size was to combination full-out run/walk until could run again for 1 1/2 miles, rest for about 6 minutes, then full-out dash some 40 feet then back again, 4 times, resting for 3 minutes between runs. How much is too much, and can I eat more to compensate for any muscle loss which may occur?
Sorry it took this long to get back to you, but here goes for my routine (3-4 times a week):
First I always try to vary the order of my exercises since I was told a while ago that the one thing you do not want is for your body to get used your workout regiment. One thing though, please take it easy on me, I don’t really know many technical terms although I’m trying to be more focused about it lately :lol: .
40 pushups every morning
leg press 3 sets of 12 at 240 lbs
bench press 3 sets of 10 at 120 lbs (this has gone down alot recently, I went a good 3 months without working out much at all and now I’m paying for it)
assisted dips 3 sets of 12 with 40 lbs counterweight
20 minute run on the treadmill at an average 5miles/8km an hour
3 sets of 12 at 80 lbs on the stomache crunch machine(kinda looks like the harness on a roller coaster :lol: )
I’m not sure what you call this but you lay sloped facing the floor with your legs locked into place and your torso is in the air, kinda like reverse sit ups. 3 sets of 10 of these
3 sets of 12 arm curls at a combined 50 lbs (biceps have always been my weakest area so any tips would be much appreciated)
this one has a suspended horizontal bar hanging from a rope and you kind sit under it pulling it down to your chest or behind your neck(hope this makes sense). I do 3 sets of 12 at 120 lbs.
and the last thing a shoulder exercise where you slide your arms under these weighted pads and raise them kinda like mimicking a chicken (haha these are getting bad). Anyway I do 3 sets of 10 at 80 lbs.
I’ve been going to the brand new YMCA where I live and you get free training sessions so some dude planned out this routine for me. He told me to stay away from free weights for the moment so I only do bench presses in that regard. Is this a good thing? I’ve always heard that free wights are much more effective, but I have to admit they are much harder to exercise properly with. Another thing he told me which I’d never heard before was that you should always start your first set so that you CANNOT do a second set at the same weight i.e. decrease the weight by 5 pounds for each successive set. I haven’t followed this rule very much, but maybe I should. Another thing that’s made my workouts much harder is that the same guy told me that the release should always take roughly twice as long as the lifting/pulling. This makes every exercise much harder/painful, but so far it’s not unbearable. I suppose my form wasn’t spectacular before, but this in particular makes the whole workout much more trying.
I would also like to know about proper breathing techniques like when to inhale and exhale when you lifet etc etc.
One last thing is that I’m trying to bulk up a bit(not too much) while also burning some fat. Is this feasible and if so how is the best way to go about it?
Thanks for any replies, my aching body will appreciate it.
I’m sorry I didn’t read the entire post but saw a couple things that jumped out at me…
when lifting take a slow deep breath on the negative and exhale on the push/pull…IIRC
Trying to burn fat while bulking is next to impossible…considering that it’s much easier to lose weight (if you are disciplined, especially for guys) than it is to gain mass…then I would recommend bulking first, at least to some degree…and the extra muscle will help metabolize fat when the time comes anyway…
I don’t see any good pressing exercises for ur chest…throw either flat or incline press in that routine for starters…as for me I do both as well as other exercises just for my chest…
I c ur doin rows for ur back but at least throw in a few sets of pull ups or somethin for ur back as well…And you want to make sure ur hitting all three muscles in ur shoulders and not just the medial deltoids…throw in some frontal raises and reverse flies to hit the front and rear delts.
It looks like ur doin pretty light weight with higher reps. Personally not somethin I recommend to anybody cuz I’m all about building muscle and getting stronger first and foremost…but if ur going to do that many reps I would suggest that you use enough weight that the last rep is indeed a failure rep.
Ok, I have a problem with stitches. As in I get them whenever I’m doing cardio. I normally don’t eat or drink before I do any cardio, so what’s the problem?
Thanks for the tips, I’ll start doing that. The only reason I figured that I would go with high reps was to build muscle endurance, I think I’ll start upping the weight and lowering the reps now that I’m used to the routine.
Zero has been lifting weights for about 3 years now, and has built up a very good amount of muscle. In fact, with the exception of his chest, Zero is quite satified at where is currently is in this regard (which, thanks to the inclined bench press suggestion made earlier in this thread, Zero is sure to fix the chest problem, too). However, since Zero isn’t an idiot, he still strength trains 3 days a week.
Right now, Zero’s mission is to lower his body fat to better present the muscle underneath. To help in this, Zero is on a very strict diet and does cardio the 4 days a week this he is not weight lifting.
Now for the question:
Zero has now added cardio on the days that we lifts weight too (after the weight lifting). Will this cause Zero to lose the muscle he has built? Zero doesn’t mind too much if it slows his muscle growth (since as meantioned earlier, Zero is pretty satisfied here), but he doesn’t want to lose muscle.
You may lose SOME size…but you shouldn’t lose any strength…at least I didn’t…I didn’t even lose size really. Just didn’t get any bigger. Regardless…I think you’ll be quite pleased with the way you will look if you lose a little muscle and alot of fat.
Well it has come to my attention that i have no upper body strenth. How do i begin a workout to build upper body strength. I have an excellent lower body stenth and good cardio, but help me out with my arms and chest.
Actually, you’re probably better off without the pad. I know it hurts, but you learn to get used to it after a while >__^. You should start at a weight that doesn’t hurt so that you can get used to the proper form and in doing so you at least improve your balance. Other than that you might want to use a squat machine although you don’t work the stabilizing muscles.
DO NOT max out often. It will eventually take it’s toll on whichever muscle group you’re maxing out. About 4 months ago, I went on a crusade to increase my max weight on flat bench. I went for the highest weight I could handle (even if it was only 1 or 2 reps), and then would come down in weight to do reps. I did manage to increase my max weight from 225lbs to 275lbs in about 2 months, but I ended up tearing my left pectoral. The tear was right on top of my heart, and it felt like someone was crushing my heart. Believe me, tearing a muscle is no joke.
I also tore muscle in my groin in Tae Kwon Do several years back and that was excruciating. It hurt to lift my leg in any manner. Stairs, sitting, standing, all of it hurt like a motherfucker, and when I did come back about a month later, I could only kick about knee-high for another month.
I’ve also heard about guys going nuts doing curls and tearing their biceps, and from what I understand, the pain is unbearable.
Just remember, it’s ok to go up in weight to increase the weight you do reps at, but just don’t increase your max weight on a weekly/daily basis. Once a month (or less) should do fine.
I use the wrap around cushion and squat over 3 times my body weight. If you feel pain when it’s across ur shoulders roll the bar back ever so slightly until it’s comfortable for the most part. If it still hurts to the point of actually bothering you…then just do hack squats/leg press/leg extensions for ur quads…or do squats on a smith system.