A know there are a lot of muscle bound fellers around Massassi, so I thought I'd ask for some advice/feedback:

For over a year now, I have been incredibly out of shape. I'm about 6' 2" and recently hit about 180 lbs, although I look much skinnier. Well, I decided I really wanted to improve my physique and get in shape (trite, I know). Unlike previous desires/failed attempts to get in shape, I actually feel extremely motivated right now. I've been training for about a week, and I'm actually looking forward to each session instead of dreading it.

So, these are my goals: Work on (chiefly) Chest, Biceps, Triceps, Abs, and Forearms for my upper body, and a good cardiovascular workout (mostly running) for my lower body. I already have really muscular legs, for what reasons I do not know. I think I'd like to get (a goal mind you) of 14" biceps, be able to bench about 140 lbs, do a 100 pushups without stopping (and I mean PROPER pushups), and run for 5k without stopping or be able to run/jog for 30 minutes without stopping. I would like to be able to accomplish this by September 1st, 2006. Is that unrealistic? I suppose that's a hard question to ask over the internet, but I'll tell you what my current routine is right now.

First off, I'm not trying to kill myself, at least not at the beginning. I'm alternating days between lower and upper body workouts. On A Days I'll do as follows:

Flex (12 Secs.)
Hand Grasp (30 seconds)
Dumbbells @ 9lbs, 10x
Pushups @ 15 properly
Hammer Curls @ 9lbs, 10x
Crunches @ 15 properly
Dumbbells @ 9lbs, 10x
Crunches @ 15 properly
Hammer Curls @ 9lbs, 10x
Pushups @ 15 properly
Dumbbells @ 9lbs, 10x
Hand Grasp (30 seconds)
Flex (12 Secs.)

I think I need to add more exercises, but I'm only just starting off. I also realize 9 lbs is very little, but it's what I have available, and it's a good starting weight for endurance. If I want to start adding bulk, I suppose I'll need to go for 12 or 15 lbs. I'm also doing pushups and crunches throughout the day when I get a chance and I'd also like to do pullups, but I really don't have anywhere around the house to do it. I'm doing all of this at home.

Here's my lower body B day schedule:

Stretch briefly
20 Crunches
Squats @ 9lbs, 15x
Run/walk for 20 minutes
Squats @ 9lbs, 15x
20 Crunches
Stretch
Do 15 pushups

And I've been doing this for about a week now. Even though I obviously don't look different, it's amazing how much better I feel. I really hope I can keep this up, it's done wonders for my confidence, energy, and happiness, and it can only improve. What I'm curious about is: is this routine too simple? Do I need more weight, less reps, more exercises, etc.? How quickly should I buildup my weight if I want to start adding bulk within in the next few weeks/month. Do I need to decrease the number of sessions per week?

Keep in mind, I've been doing some research on-line, but I'd like to hear some personal first hand experience from people who have been doing this for a while, what works for them, and what they would advise me to continue or stop doing. Thanks.

Good to see that you are aiming for specifics. I lift, but I regret not having a defined plan. I regularly work on the same machines every time, but I don't have long-term goals.

Machines suck b/c they strengthen muscles but don't strengthen ligaments. Use free weights as much as you can.

Whatever you end up doing, you want to make sure you hit the core muscle groups:

Chest
Shoulders
Back
Biceps
Triceps
Forearms
Abs
Quads
Calves


If you hit those muscle groups with basic exercises, you should do alright.

Why is that? Any references? Not that I so much don't trust you but, ok, I don't trust you.

He's actually right. Machines are not as effiecient as freeweights, however they are GREAT toners. What I mean is, you don't get stronger, but you get toned.

Machines were built to make things easier. And when you weight lift, you want things to be harder. Even weight lifting.



I stress Avenger's post a lot. Men favor doing upper body workouts and ignore the legs, pass it off as "running".

Running will NOT let you gain muscel mass or strength. You must do leg workouts (leg flex and leg extentions) in order to do so.



You're ignoring some the legs and some essential upper body workouts, like triceps. However, you're just starting out, so it's alright--just add them in next month or so. If you want a good standard wrestling/football/martial artist workout, look up Pommy's (I think it was his) post and look over my suggestions. I think this one will be okay if you just up the crunches, add a little more weight every once and a while, and start on the straightbar (bench press and incline...no weight added, just the bar), and finally add some back workouts (lateral pulls, reverse grip lateral pulls...the thing where you pull down the bar behind your neck).

Always, always, always run for at least 10 minutes before your workout. So, move your runnin' up to the top of teh list.

And what I told Pommy (I think it was him):
Eat more
Sleep more
Lift more
Melt some faces

[Edited:] Read the rest of your post
[Edited:] It's not Pommy, I don't know what I was thinking. He doesn't need to get into shape.

Wow, Daft, I was just thinking of getting into a workout regimen, and out bodies are of similar dimensions. Weird, huh?

Where did you do your research. (plz no google linkz kthxdie)

I personally lift very few weights. I only do like three dumbell lifts with homemade dumbells.

Here is my exercises.

>Pushups 200 daily minimum (spaced and in ladders)
>Pullup ladders to 5 daily (50)
>Handstand Pushups (I'm working up to doing full reps, so I just do partials until my muscles are fatigued)
>200 bodyweight squats
>Core
-100 Marine Corps style crunches, to practice for the test
-Kneeups from a pullup bar
-Superman back ups
-Atlas Situps and Leg Raises

I also do little exercises throughout the day, mostly isometric type things (pulling on a doorknob as hard as I can) but also random pushups and stuff. Sometimes when I get the urge, I do some of the exercises from that 'Thug workout:fitness from the streets' or whatever thing you see on MTV. That thing is hardcore, even though I can't udnerstand what half the brothas are saying.

I try to run three miles at least three times a week.

But yours looks to be a good weightlifting routine, except...

It looks like what Jennifer Aniston would do. Nothing wrong with that, I hear she can wrestle a bouncer the ground drunk But actually, for your goals, it might get you there right at your date. You could easily pass up those dates (except the 14" biceps, arm size is related to genetics, some people have to train in a different manner to get huge biceps) if you really put on some more weight with fewer reps.

A treasure trove of things for working out are here

http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/shenandoah/Grunt/grunt.html

Including a great doorway mountable (and removable) pullup bar.

But doing pushups and crunches throughout the day is probably one of the best things.

Oh yeah, eat more. Lean protein, pork, chicken, fish. Little less carbohydrates if you eat lots of chips and such. Drink water like a madman. Yes, water, very important.

Make sure as you keep on lifting that you be sure and stretch before and after, and run a little before, and then run after, or else you will lose any flexibility you have.

(BTW, cardiovascular activies such as running, biking, and jump roping a great fat-burners for your overall body, and also work your abs pretty good too.)

Also note that you can get a good workout without weights by doing push up, dips, pull ups, chin ups, etc.

I once had an idea of getting muscles, but that required too much everything.

Well, most of my research was on google....

I cross-referenced quite a bit, just to *try* and filter out the bologna from the sirloin. A couple of helpful places I found (for me at least) were:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/castronova/ARM.HTML
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dean2.htm (hehe, the guy on there gets a bit uptight)
http://www.getbig.com/articles/begbody.htm
http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/matmar1.htm
There is some conflicting information, and some sites seem more professional than others, but I dunno. Maybe someone on here with personal experience could back up or debunk the facts presented.

Good luck with your efforts in fitness Grismath! We should keep tabs on each other so that we can make sure we're both still exercising.... >_>


Hehe, yeah, like I said, I'm not trying to kill myself right now. I know it's not a lot of weight, but I'm trying to start out slow and easy so that I can keep my motivation high. I'll probably lower the reps and increase the weight by the time school ends for me. The problem is buying all these damn dumbbells and then storing them. I'm considering in investing in this - Spiffy Dumbbells - just because of how convenient it would be. I'd love it if I was up to 20 lbs+ by the end of the summer, but again, I don't know if that is a realistic goal.

And as for the value of pushups/crunches I agree. I think I'm starting to appreciate the great value and flexibility of bodyweight training, and I certainly don't seem myself doing anything more than freeweights at the moments. Machines are large, clunky, and expensive and it's already been pointed out that in making the work easier you lose a lot of the benefits of a workout. In fact, I think so long as I can stay motivated, I'll try and stay clear of a gym.

Those dumbells are awesome. But, visit that link I posted earlier, and you can make your own handles for far less. Just tighten the hose clamps the **** down. Never ever failed for me, even throwing them and swinging them.



Machines are next to worthless, IMO, for real strength, and even real aesthetics. Body exercise, and free weights, if you msut.

Define "Marine Style Crunches"

I am liking all the insightful information in this thread. Good stuff, people

I'm getting the idea that machines and gyms are overrated? Strength can be gained from the basics of push-ups and pull-ups?

I joined the weight club at my school. An hour and a half any day of the week after school, and they have a large collection of machines and freeweights. I started off doing lots of stuff, but lately I've slacked off.

Still, it was only $10 CDN for the entire year! How could I resist?
I should really start doing that again.

[edit] JDKNITE, I could be wrong, but I think you're correct. I believe that you can at least keep quite fit with pushups and a few leg exercises. Depending on how you position your arms, you can get much of your body with pushups. I try to do 20-30 every day, but I oughta do more.

Think I'll go home now and do some, actually. This thread has me all motivated! w00t! Thx, people. [/edit]

Push ups will make you stronger and tone as well. Not really going to bulk you up, but they wrok the chest, shoulders, arms, and back. Moving you hands will focus on different muscles. You can also do inclined and declined push ups to further work the chest.

Lay supine with your knees bent, feet on the round. Cross your forearms over your abdomen and raise up until they touch the meat of your thighs. This is a LOT farther than a regular crunch, but not so far as a situp, where you go over and lose some muscle tension.

Yeah. A propper crunch keeps the abs tense as long as possible.

your 6'2 and 180lbs??? wow are freakin light dude. im 5'8 at 170lbs. i can give you some advice on the upper body workouts.
Don't worry about building up weight, that will come naturally. I was 150lbs at the first of this school year, i've gained 20 lbs and only like 1in in height. I went up 70lbs in bench, from 155lbs max to 225lbs max (did that yesterday). I curl 35lbs 20x each arm. 65lbs tricep extenstions. powerclean 195lbs and squat 250lbs ( yea i know, i just dont work on it as much as i need to)

any way if you want to bench 140, up your reps of pushups and work your triceps more. for triceps do as much weight as you can at 10 reps. would recommend a bench machine if you can get one or get use of one. Also see what your max is right now so you know if you can hit your 140 mark and not let yourself down.
when doing your pushups, when you first start, warm up by doing as many as you, as fast as your can. wait a while or do another exercise for about 5mins and do at least -10 reps as you did before, not fast, but steady.

for a 14in bicep, your need to up your weight big time, at least 15lbs at most 25lbs at 10 reps each arm. this is for regular curls. Hammer curls, 9lbs will work fine though if your 25lbs on curls try 12-15lbs on hammer curls.

i don't get what the crap a flex for 12secs means.. or hand grasp....???

Eat lots of meat or stuff with protein, lay off the coke and switch to something like poweraide or ect...

Why are your doing squats with 9lbs at only 15x??? if you can only get 9lbs do as many reps as your can or till you feel a good burn.

If you can try to find somewhere to do pullups, they work wonders on upperbody strength.



i gtg for now, so ill leave you with these tips, ill stop by if you need some more. good luck

IMHO (and from what my trainer taught me), don't stress much over your forearms at this stage. They're getting a workout from other exercises.

I gained 15lb in a few months -- I am now 6' 155lb (and gaining), ~7-8% bodyfat. For now, concentrate on your core - legs, back/torso and chest. I've been doing bench press, flat dumbell press, incline dumbell press, incline cable flies, flat cable flies and decline cable flies for upper body (among other things), and mainly barbell squats, front squats and glute/hamstring raises for lower body.

You'll probably want to do a lot more cardio than I've been doing, since you have a bit more weight to work with. I'm training for a PD physical fitness test, so I just started running today..hoping not to lose the weight I've just put on, but what happens happens.

$0.02.

He's not going to get 14" biceps lifting 25 lb dumbells. Heck, that's no easy task unless you have big arms to begin with. As skinny as he is, it's not going to happen.

thats to start out with, cause 9lbs isnt getting him nowhere. you just can't jump up the weight 30lbs in one day, you got to build up to it. And personally I dont know his body build. I've also seen skinny guys that look like nothing have some pretty damn big biceps.

I know, but 14" is pretty damn big. That's how big mine are and I don;t know too many people who have biceps bigger than mine, and those people who do are gym rats.

Good friend of mine (my informal 'trainer') is a parapalegic competitive bodybuilder with 17" biceps..though he does own a gym, so perhaps he's a gym rat. :p



If his goal is a 140lb bench, he should be shooting for that well before he tries for 14" biceps. Concentrate on core body first, then the other stuff. For a 180lb guy, a 140lb bench shouldn't be difficult -- especially not after a few weeks of training.

I'm going to guess he can bench 140lb right now -- if not, he's probably really, really close.

i need to find my a measureing tape and measure my biceps lol, i always wondered..........ill come back with the results

Well, competitive bodybuilder takes care of that.

Yeah, it kinda does. :p

This guy is jacked..especially considering he's in a wheelchair..just incredible.

Hmm, thanks for the responses guys. I'm currently doing some research on more exercises to do, I'll post them here in a while.

As for 14" biceps, I really just threw that number out there. I didn't think it was unrealistic since (unless I'm measuring them wrong) my biceps are 11" unflexed, 12" flexed. I must have measured them wrong I guess. I'm such a noob at this.

Anyway, yes, 9lbs is pitiful, but that's all I have right now. I'm going to see if I can buy some 15 lbs or something. If only those bowflex dumbbells weren't $400.... As for sqauts with 18 lbs, yes, it is insanely easy. I really need to get some more weights.

I'd really like to do pullups, but I don't have a bar and I can't really find a suitable alternative. I tried doing some underneath my deck, but those wood planks really hurt.

And as for benchiung 140 lbs, I have to honestly confess, I doubt I'd even be close. I'm pretty weak, if you mean bench (let's say 6 repetitions), then maybe 110, I dunno, last time I tried was a while ago. Maybe I'll have to readjust my goals, but that's okay. I just need to plug away at this. I've got to start somewhere, and all these responses have been very informative and helpful.


Are you saying I'm fat? :p As for cardio, I went running today, only about 25 minutes with some walking, but I'm building up to that as well.

(oh, btw, I have 16" calves and I'm pretty sure I measured them correctly.)

You should be able to get a pull up bar for $10-$20 that you can install in a doorway. They're pretty handy.

It's easy to do more cardio than I, since I haven't done any until today. :p

You may want to seriously consider a session or two at a good gym with a qualified trainer so you can be sure you're doing exercises properly. You can easily injure yourself, especially when the weights start getting heavier. Also remember -- never compromise form in order to lift more weight. Perfect form is critical -- weight is secondary. Strength and additional weight will come eventually -- concentrate on form. When you can do 10 reps with great form, try increasing the weight.

There are so many different schools of thought for working out..again I recommend EliteFTS.com, since that has worked for me. Example of my schedule:

M: Max effort upper body
T: Off
W: Max effort lower body
H: Off
F: Dynamic (lower weight, high rep) upper body
S: Off
S: Off
M: Dynamic lower body
T: Off
W: Max effort upper body

Etc.

Again, do not compromise form for any reason. That's how injuries happen -- and your training will be less efficient/helpful.

Maybe I'll order one on-line.

Anyway, I found, lo and behold, a most awesome book on the shelf: Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men, written by the Terminating muscle man himself, 1981 (before he got uber famous). Well, there seem to be some very helpful exercise suggestions, but I just want to check with you guys if you think they are still practical and not dated. I'm sure methods have changed quite a bit in the last 25 years. Tell me if you think I have the right number of sets/repetitions, or if I need to change them (also mention if you have any good alternatives/additions, I'm still looking for new exercises). Endurance is very important, especially with lower weight, but my ultimate goal by the end of the summer is some added bulk (at least definition) and increased strength.





I need lots of suggestions please. :p

well I have exactly 14in biceps, yay!

and if you said you can get 110lbs at 6 reps, i think you can get 140 at least one time

I also regret not having a regular workout regimen, but I was gifted with pretty natural strength. I'm about 6 feet tall, 240lbs. 14 inch biceps aren't very big, cause I have pretty close to that. In high school, because of wrestling, I had a 22 inch neck (around) and could lift over 100 lbs on our neck machine. My max in bench press is around 300 lbs and I regularly work out with around 220. I'm more upper body oriented because of my bad knees. I can only squat around 400 lbs because of tendonitus.

Some of the misinformation in this thread is amazing.

Please understand that I may also be wrong; I have no formal training, I'm not a doctor or a physical trainer or anything like that, but I have lifted almost every day for the past eight years, so I've got a lot of personal experience to draw from.

I theme I saw in replies here is that machines are useless and even bad for you. This is simply not the case. Someone mentioned that on a machine your ligaments don't strengthen - what he surely meant is that secondary muscles aren't worked. Your ligaments grow somewhat with the muscle, but there isn't really anything you can do to 'strengthen' them. What you can do is stretch them, to make them less prone to tearing. In general, though, the material that makes up ligaments is much stronger than muscle tissue. A torn ligament is the least likely of the injuries you can bring on yourself if you take weight lifting on too fast. You're much more likely to seperate the ligament from the bone or pull or tear the muscle.
I mentioned secondary muscles before. In any given excersize, there are primary muscles that are doing the bulk of the work. In the bench press, these are the triceps and pectorals. When you use a machine, those are the only muscles worked. When you use free weights, you tense other muscles to keep the weight in place. If you don't do a variety of excersizes, you aren't going to get good results from a machine. With free weights, you can do fewer excersizes, but you generally have to do them with less weight so you don't drop the dumbell when you reach muscular failure.

You have to set your goals now. Do you want to be strong, or do you want to be huge? Different regiments give different results. Strength is built by 'maxxing out', that is, performing reps until you can't do anymore. This is called 'muscular failure', and should happen three or four reps after you start feeling the lactic burn. Muscle size is increased by doing more reps at lower weight, which was a little counter-intuitive to me at first. Heavy weight and low reps will produce dense, strong muscles; many reps at low weight will produce large, endurant (is that a word?) muscles.

I usually hit a machine one a week; the night before my day off from work; for a very fast high-impact work out. I do several upper body excersizes at high weights, with an aim of maxxing out at about 10 reps. I do each excersize in sequence without a rest, alternating directions or sides so that I still give the muscles I just worked a chance to rest. This is actually one of the benefits of machines; you can do a bench press, working your triceps and pecs, then immediatly switch to an upright row. You can't do that with free weights, because the secondary muscles will be tired too. Though I wouldn't recommend this sort of thing to someone just starting out. I repeat the sequence three times. Then I go home and play video games until I can move my arms again.
The rest of the week I do high-rep low-weight excersizes with free weights. I got in the habit of carrying a small dumbell around with me all the time and now I can't stop.

Also realize that, though biceps can be impressive, they are actually pretty useless. In everyday life, if you are picking up things heavy enough to actually work them, you are using your shoulders, back, and thighs. If you are a weak guy and want to 'feel strong', concentrate on your shoulders and upper back at first. If you want to look buff, don't forget the trapezius.

And above all else, DON'T FORGET TO STRETCH. I can't do free weight squats anymore because I hurt my knee in a car accident and my flexibility never fully required. FLEXIBILITY IS EASY TO LOSE; IT'S HARD TO GET BACK!

I should also add that a good machine (I agree some machines are awful. That's a result of their design, not just because they are machines) inforces perfect form. You just can't do the excersize wrong; it's a nice plus.

And I just measured my biceps for the first time ever. You are all wimps, even that parapelegic competetive body builder.

STOP EATING FATTY

:em321:

if(getThingFlags(source) & 0x8){
  do her}
elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
  do other babe}
else{
  do a dude}

Your biceps are more than 17"? I call bull****.