workouts to build muscle

[CelticWarrior]

I been exercising and working out for 8 months now, for the first 7 months I did exercise and weight trained on a bowflex. Past month I switched over to free weights with same basic routine and didnt feel was getting anywhere. So this week I started a new workout routine, a pyramid lift an amount of weights for 10 sets, then add 5 pounds then 8 sets ,add 5 more and 6 sets.

Im looking for someone with weight training exp to tell me if this will get results or what would be the best routine to get results for bulking. I also been losing weight, I still need to lose another 12 pounds ,so Im not looking to eat more to gain more weight, but I like to bulk up is that even possible ? I learned that if your weight training jogging is bad for the muscles ,it breaks them up, so I walk, but is that true ? any info you guys can share would be much appreciated as Im just really starting out and learning weight training.


thanks

[decu68]

You are saying sets, did you mean reps? These are two different things.

First, congrats on working out 8 months. That in itself you should be commended and I hope you continue on for life. I'm just over 13 years myself and still going. Second, there is nothing wrong with jogging while doing a weight training program. Have you looked at elite athletes, they run and are still strong and muscular. That is old thinking and it is wrong. That is like saying a body building could not be flexible because of all of the muscle; BUNK.

From the simple information you have provided you are not giving us much to go on. In your workout routine are you hitting all of the major muscle groups? Legs, Chest, Back, Shoulders, Triceps. Biceps and Abs. Are you working the larger muscles first before working smaller muscles like Triceps and Biceps? Are you doing a sufficient amount of leg workouts? The legs are the foundation of the body and if you limit that training then you are limiting any other gains you could have for other body parts. Are you allowing adequate REST to heal and to grow? Are you getting proper nutrition? Are you drinking enough water? So many factors go into lifting. Sure it is easy to just start and pick up some weights and start but you will find that after a while your body will adapt and this is the time you will need to start learning more about weight lifting in order to progress.

There are a lot of routines out there, just look at this site. There are also a lot of bad routines out there; again just look at this site. But if you weed through things you can find some real gems with people that actually understand what they are doing.

Another question I would ask is do you have sufficient amount of weights? Without having direct access to a lot of weights then you are limiting yourself. You have to continually challenge yourself by lifting more weight, upping reps, reducing rest time, etc. If you continually lift the same weights all of the time because that is all you have then your body will adapt and that will feel hard and you will be hitting a wall.

One thing you could do is go to a gym and talk to a personal trainer. Ensure if you do this that you do your homework because many places have people in place that don't have a clue and only have a certificate from taking a course, they have no real life experience. Nothing beats talking to a real person and have them work with you.

I'll check back later to see if you've looked at it and if this has sparked any further questions.

[Robertrogo]

I have been lifting since I was 18 and used to weigh 290 pounds and by 19-20 I was weighing 180 and completely understand where you are coming from and what you are looking to gain from your exercising.

To answer your question first about Running, yes it has been stated that jogging breaks down the muscles and at times is bad for your weight training but running is very important after weight lifting as it helps expand your blood vessels and push oxygen and blood into your torn muscles after an intense day of training. So if you are taking any supplements such as protein it can help reach your muscles faster for better and faster recovery. If you are only doing running and no weight training then you will lose some muscle/strength but it is not detrimental to your goals of weight training.

I like the way you have gone about weight lifting and training as a bowflex is a great tool to gain strength and build muscle. Free weights help build stability in your core and allow you to balance weights as you weight training, thus building more muscle in the process and giving you more focus on your workouts. Along with this, it gives you more freedom and movement in your workouts to allow you to build more muscle.

I would say with free weights try pushing yourself to lift more and heavier weights, the more sets and reps that you do with free weights, the more muscle and strength you will build. You bulk up from more weight but the ONE KEY tool to any weight training is doing Squats, Leg Presses, Deadlifts and any other whole body strength, endurance and bulking exercises. Deadlifts and Squats are EXTREMELY important to any bulking and muscle gaining routine as they push the whole body to work and utilize all your muscles, it helps build strength and the more weight you lift helps you bulk up and gain more muscle.

And depending on how much you weigh, the average amount of calories a man around the weight of 180-190 needs to eat to help lose weight during weight training is around 2200 calories, your body utilizes these calories while weight training and you NEED to replenish your nutrients and muscles after each session, if you don't eat you wont see any gains at all or any sort of bulk build. Try some whey protein as well or even an NO product such as Jack3d by USPLabs, C4 Extreme by Cellucor or NO Xplode, these will allow more nutrients to be pushed through your body and allow you to make more gains and help you build more muscle, supplements always help but just depends on which ones that you go for (STEER CLEAR OF MUSCLETECH, I have used them and loved their products but they are full of fillers and are EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE)

Personally I would say just keep pushing yourself to lift more weights, heavier weights, eat more, do full body workouts such as the Deadlifts, Squats and of course Legpress. If you add more weight, try your best to push yourself to do more reps and more sets, even do drop sets or push yourself to do as many reps as possible on your final set. If you confuse your muscles you will see gains, the one thing is that your muscles even get used to the same routines and if you dont mix things up and confuse your muscles will various workouts, reps, sets or anything, you wont see gains and be stuck where you are at.

I hope this helps you CelticWarrior and if you need any other advice or help or anything at all feel free to ask and I wish you the best of luck on your gains and weight training.

Also thank you for your support of JEFIT!

[CelticWarrior]

My ment reps lol I do 3 sets first set 10 reps, second 8 reps and 3rd 6 reps.

I bought a weight bench with a built in squat rack and preacher curl pad, I also purchased 600 pounds of Olympic weights , I am actually hoping to buy and set of the weights so I dont have to move my weights from 1 exercise to another at all. lol Apparently 600 pounds is not enough ,I drink at least 10 9 oz glasses of water a day. I drink a whey shake 2 times a day, eat 2 eggs and 4 egg whites almost every morning, and tunafish, so I think Im putting enough protein in my body. One thing I pretty sure Im not doing properly is stretching, I dont stretch after a workout, and the stretching I do before a workout I doubt is very helpful. I can use some pointers here as well.




You are saying sets, did you mean reps? These are two different things.

First, congrats on working out 8 months. That in itself you should be commended and I hope you continue on for life. I'm just over 13 years myself and still going. Second, there is nothing wrong with jogging while doing a weight training program. Have you looked at elite athletes, they run and are still strong and muscular. That is old thinking and it is wrong. That is like saying a body building could not be flexible because of all of the muscle; BUNK.

From the simple information you have provided you are not giving us much to go on. In your workout routine are you hitting all of the major muscle groups? Legs, Chest, Back, Shoulders, Triceps. Biceps and Abs. Are you working the larger muscles first before working smaller muscles like Triceps and Biceps? Are you doing a sufficient amount of leg workouts? The legs are the foundation of the body and if you limit that training then you are limiting any other gains you could have for other body parts. Are you allowing adequate REST to heal and to grow? Are you getting proper nutrition? Are you drinking enough water? So many factors go into lifting. Sure it is easy to just start and pick up some weights and start but you will find that after a while your body will adapt and this is the time you will need to start learning more about weight lifting in order to progress.

There are a lot of routines out there, just look at this site. There are also a lot of bad routines out there; again just look at this site. But if you weed through things you can find some real gems with people that actually understand what they are doing.

Another question I would ask is do you have sufficient amount of weights? Without having direct access to a lot of weights then you are limiting yourself. You have to continually challenge yourself by lifting more weight, upping reps, reducing rest time, etc. If you continually lift the same weights all of the time because that is all you have then your body will adapt and that will feel hard and you will be hitting a wall.

One thing you could do is go to a gym and talk to a personal trainer. Ensure if you do this that you do your homework because many places have people in place that don't have a clue and only have a certificate from taking a course, they have no real life experience. Nothing beats talking to a real person and have them work with you.

I'll check back later to see if you've looked at it and if this has sparked any further questions.

[CelticWarrior]

So I should jog after weight training say for 30-45 minutes ?

I try to add 5 pounds every 2 weeks to what I can lift ,I think more of my problem is I dont have a spotter so I tend to not push myself to the point where I end up hurting or killing myself. Like today I tried benching 165 pounds and got 5 out of it before I stopped and dropped the weight to 145 out of fear of not getting the bar back up. So I will continue to try to add 5 pounds every 2 weeks once I get to the point I can handle the reps in good form till the end.

I submitted my routine so feel free to criticize it , I only wanna get the best out of my workouts without wasting them. As for confusing my muscles, I start from the first exercise one week ,then I start from the last exercise the next week. I only started this routine this week .


I was was weighing 330 pound on july 19th 2010 and I can't begin to tell you how hard it was to exercise at that weight. But I am here today weighing 211 pounds, and I do plan to weight train and stay healthy for the rest of my life. I feel so light, so fit, feel so good.

Only thing I take is body fortress protein powder with water twice a day, one a day energy vit and fish oil pills. I could use a lot of help so that I can learn as much as possible to get the best possible results. I mean I read many articles about people weight training and not getting anywhere and end up just wasting their sessions , I dont wanna be one of those guys, I want to progress...... so any tips,if you have better routines whatever, I like to read em.

Thank you for making Jefit , I got the pro version and it is really simple and awesome to use.


Thanks

[CelticWarrior]

So I should jog after weight training say for 30-45 minutes ?

I try to add 5 pounds every 2 weeks to what I can lift ,I think more of my problem is I dont have a spotter so I tend to not push myself to the point where I end up hurting or killing myself. Like today I tried benching 165 pounds and got 5 out of it before I stopped and dropped the weight to 145 out of fear of not getting the bar back up. So I will continue to try to add 5 pounds every 2 weeks once I get to the point I can handle the reps in good form till the end.

I submitted my routine so feel free to criticize it , I only wanna get the best out of my workouts without wasting them.


I was was weighing 330 pound on july 19th 2010 and I can't begin to tell you how hard it was to exercise at that weight. But I am here today weighing 211 pounds, and I do plan to weight train and stay healthy for the rest of my life. I feel so light, so fit, feel so good.

Only thing I take is body fortress protein powder with water twice a day, one a day energy vit and fish oil pills. I could use a lot of help so that I can learn as much as possible to get the best possible results. I mean I read many articles about people weight training and not getting anywhere and end up just wasting their sessions , I dont wanna be one of those guys, I want to progress...... so any tips,if you have better routines whatever, I like to read em.


Thanks
had to wait to link my routine needed 5 posts lol
http://www.jefit.com/routines/routine/?id=1590