Cause Workin' Out is 'fun' to do...

[locke]

i am eating healthier and getting more sleep. soon I may be riding my bike to work and going to the gym regularly.

[megxers]

I've put myself on a stricter diet until at least mid-March. No wheat since New Year's, and now I am trying to replace rice for the most part with quinoa. I still haven't gotten back into working out (I've had bad colds since late November), so I am trying to not gain weight, basically. Swimsuit season is fast approaching.

[Wil]

The last few weeks of weight lifting have been pretty damn easy in that, doing it doesn't make me tired or even that worn out by the end any longer (compared to four months ago when doing this same routine was the most difficult thing in the world).

So, to change it up, this week I decided to turn my normal setsxreps with a rest between each set weight lifting routine in to an interval/cross training routine. I do the same weight, reps, and sets.. but instead I start at the top of my list, and do each exercise straight down the list, without rest, until the end. I rest for two minutes, and then do it again. Repeat until finished.

Beats me up pretty damn good, and by the end I'm close to passing out ala 4 months ago.

Oh, I also did all this with what feels like the beginning of a mild head cold and/or just a sore throat. Take that, body! Serves you right for attempting to get sick on me. You a busta.

(It's okay. So long as whatever illness you have is only localized in the head and isn't chest/stomach related then it has been shown you can work out without increasing the illness or time it takes to heal.)

It's pretty awesome watching the body adjust to the weight I keep adding on to it. Months ago I could barely do a pull-up negative, now I can bust out 8x3 unassisted.

[Satya]

ORM - Squatting 400/Benching 300.. Goals I wanted to reach by the end of '09 but better late then never. Time to set a new goal.

[locke]

that makes me realize I haven't done a ORM since my freshman year of highschool. :-p

[zeroguy]

ORM? Wikipedia's disambiguation doesn't immediately show anything that looks correct.

[locke]

probably cause it's usually abbreviated 1RM

One Rep Maximum

[CezeN]

So, how do any of you guys do your bench workout routine?

When I bench, I start high, as in almost my max, and bench it till I can't anymore. No set number of reps, just as much as possible.

I then take off 5 or 10 pounds and do the same thing.

Rinse and repeat. It just feels like I'm wringing every ounce of strength out of my arms/chest and thus working out as hard as possible.

I did that today - until I was only benching in the 50-60s. Which just conveniently happened to be around the time a new class came in, which happened to be the tennis people. More importantly the tennis girls.

Nontheless, I can only imagine how pathetically weak I looked struggling to bench out what was pretty much the bar, with a small weight on each side. The grins and smirks didn't make me feel any better.
*insert embarassment*

Good thing I barely care what people think of me.

[Wil]

On Mondays I do flat bench presses... 8 sets, 3 reps a set, very close to my 1RM (this week for 3 was: 180lbs). On Thursdays I do incline bench presses 3x8, last week was at 165lbs. I supplement this by doing body weight rows and ring push ups.

Since I started this I've managed to put another 5lbs on the bar pretty much every week.

[locke]

It just feels like I'm wringing every ounce of strength out of my arms/chest and thus working out as hard as possible.

you're not. I would estimate you're only wringing about 40-60% of your possible strength from your workout. You fatigue your muscles but you're not overloading them in a manner that increases strength and power, just endurance.

Additionally, benching is particularly dangerous to fatigue yourself the way you described, as the vast majority of the 11 annual deaths (give or take) that take place in the weight room are bench press related (bar falls on throat or the delicate structures of your face) bar is more likely to fall or slip if your fatigued, and doing a fatigue workout like you say.

You should never start with heavy weight. you should always start with an empty bar (45lbs) and focus on the lift, your form, feet position, back arch, hand grip (thumbs around the bar, bar positioned directly over your wrist and arm bones not back in your hands with the bar behind your wrist and arm bones), bar path, cieling reference etc.

I usually do two sets with just the bar, but I have two bench workouts I do, the first only has one set with just the bar.

1 warmup set of 12 reps - bar only
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 warmup set of 10 reps - 50% work set weight
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 warmup set of 6 reps - 65% work set weight
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 3 reps - 75% work set weight
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 1 rep - 85-95% work set weight
1-3 minute rest
3 work sets at a minimum of 4 reps and maximum of 6 reps
2-3 minute rest between work sets
4-5 minute rest before moving to next activity.

Most of my workout time is spent in recovery (rest) which your muscles need to work at maximum performance.

basically If I can easily do 6 reps of work set weight, I'll increase the weight on the next work set until I reach positive failure between the 4th and 6th rep. If I can't reach a fourth rep I know I'm using too much weight and I'll take weight off. I won't increase weight until I can hit the 6th rep easily, if the 6th rep is barely managed I'll stay at that weight. I track my lifting the way I was trained by the football and strength 1training coaches at high school and so I know what weight I did last time and use that weight+5lbs as my target for the day's workout.


The other bench workout I do is thus:

2 sets of empty bar (45lbs)
1 minute rest
1 warmup set of 5 reps at 40% work set
1 minute rest
1 warmup set of 5 reps at 50% work set
1 minute rest
1 warmup set of 5 reps at 60% work set
1 minute rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 3 reps at 70% work set
1 minute to 90 second rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 1-2 reps at 30% work set
1 minute to 90 second rest
3 work sets of 5 reps across
2 minute rest between work sets.

Sets Across means you lift the same weight for all three sets. I do a variation on this as well that has you doing 5 sets of 5 reps across, rather than 3 sets across.

In terms of programming, the first one I listed above generally goes in a program that has bench as part of a 'chest" day or a "chest and arms" or "chest and back" day. And you're only going to bench once a week, probably lifting on either a 5 days on 2 days off split or a 3 days per week split.

The second one is generally programmed in a strength&power routine that goes every other day and only includes four exercises (plus warmups, pullups and chinups), so you have "A" Day (Bench and Squat and pullups) and B day (Press and Deadlift and Chinups). so every five days you're benching, rather than every seven. I like the latter routine more.

[CezeN]

It just feels like I'm wringing every ounce of strength out of my arms/chest and thus working out as hard as possible.

you're not. I would estimate you're only wringing about 40-60% of your possible strength from your workout. You fatigue your muscles but you're not overloading them in a manner that increases strength and power, just endurance.

Additionally, benching is particularly dangerous to fatigue yourself the way you described, as the vast majority of the 11 annual deaths (give or take) that take place in the weight room are bench press related (bar falls on throat or the delicate structures of your face) bar is more likely to fall or slip if your fatigued, and doing a fatigue workout like you say.

You're the second person to tell me this, but still, are you sure?

I mean, I tried to do it your way, today. Started off with just the bar, did about 6 reps.
Rested.
Added ten pounds on the bar, did about 6 reps.
I then went to 25's and 35's.
So, I didn't do it exactly like you told, but I started from lighter weight to heavier weight.

Now, my max is around 140 right now. Well, I can do 140 two and half times. By the time I got to the 35s on each side, I could barely do them. As in, I could do them like 3 or 4 times on my first set. And then 2-3 times with help on the last one, on my next sets. (This might have been more because I did about 3 or 4 sets of the 25's)

So, I didn't even reach the 45's and didn't do as much of the 35's as I would have if I'd gone heavy to light.

Overall, I feel like I worked out less than I did before.

[CezeN]

Also, I'm wondering if you can custom fit this workout to me, since I didn't seem to do it right before.

I usually do two sets with just the bar, but I have two bench workouts I do, the first only has one set with just the bar.

1 warmup set of 12 reps - bar only
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 warmup set of 10 reps - 50% work set weight
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 warmup set of 6 reps - 65% work set weight
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 3 reps - 75% work set weight
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 1 rep - 85-95% work set weight
1-3 minute rest
3 work sets at a minimum of 4 reps and maximum of 6 reps
2-3 minute rest between work sets
4-5 minute rest before moving to next activity.

Most of my workout time is spent in recovery (rest) which your muscles need to work at maximum performance.

basically If I can easily do 6 reps of work set weight, I'll increase the weight on the next work set until I reach positive failure between the 4th and 6th rep. If I can't reach a fourth rep I know I'm using too much weight and I'll take weight off. I won't increase weight until I can hit the 6th rep easily, if the 6th rep is barely managed I'll stay at that weight. I track my lifting the way I was trained by the football and strength 1training coaches at high school and so I know what weight I did last time and use that weight+5lbs as my target for the day's workout.


The other bench workout I do is thus:

2 sets of empty bar (45lbs)
1 minute rest
1 warmup set of 5 reps at 40% work set
1 minute rest
1 warmup set of 5 reps at 50% work set
1 minute rest
1 warmup set of 5 reps at 60% work set
1 minute rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 3 reps at 70% work set
1 minute to 90 second rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 1-2 reps at 30% work set
1 minute to 90 second rest
3 work sets of 5 reps across
2 minute rest between work sets.

Sets Across means you lift the same weight for all three sets. I do a variation on this as well that has you doing 5 sets of 5 reps across, rather than 3 sets across.

In terms of programming, the first one I listed above generally goes in a program that has bench as part of a 'chest" day or a "chest and arms" or "chest and back" day. And you're only going to bench once a week, probably lifting on either a 5 days on 2 days off split or a 3 days per week split.

The second one is generally programmed in a strength&power routine that goes every other day and only includes four exercises (plus warmups, pullups and chinups), so you have "A" Day (Bench and Squat and pullups) and B day (Press and Deadlift and Chinups). so every five days you're benching, rather than every seven. I like the latter routine more.

Since my max is either 145 or 140, we'll just say 140, when you're saying 50%, I should be doing 70 pounds?

So my workout routine should be this?

1 warmup set of 12 reps - bar only (45 pounds)
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 warmup set of 10 reps - 50% work set weight (70 pounds)
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 warmup set of 6 reps - 65% work set weight (90 pounds)
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 3 reps - 75% work set weight (105 pounds)
1 minute-2 minute rest
1 heavy acclimation set of 1 rep - 85-95% work set weight(Anywhere between 120 pounds and 135 pounds)
1-3 minute rest
???

3 work sets at a minimum of 4 reps and maximum of 6 reps
2-3 minute rest between work sets
4-5 minute rest before moving to next activity.
Here, I have no clue what you mean by work set. Or what you're talking about...

Also, I workout every other day (since I have Dual Credit Monday and Wednesday), so would you suggest I do the second routine instead?

[Wil]

That sure seems like a lot of focus on the chest. That's like 15-20 minutes working on JUST the chest. Where's the other significant muscle groups at? Please tell me you're doing opposing muscle groups as well (traps, delts - chest, back - triceps, biceps - abs, lower back/glutes - quads, hammies). If not, you're creating muscular imbalances.

I understand how "nice" it looks to have a strong looking upper body, especially with summer coming up, but you're just wasting time focusing so heavily on your chest. As nice as the bench press is, it shouldn't be your only or even the most important lift you do. You should be throwing in pull ups, push ups, dips, over head presses, inclined dumb bell rows, dead lifts, rows, squats, lunges, decline sit ups, leg raises/dragon flags/windshield wipers, pistols, etc.

I go largely unnoticed with a lot of my posts, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. But, seriously, don't waste your time working out if you're just going to squander your time on a largely insignificant lift. Working out is not only important to look better, but to perform better in day to day life as well. Your chest can become strong and defined without spending 20 minutes on it alone, and if you were to supplement your bench press with other lifts and movements that help work the supporting muscles of a bench press (push ups, rows, pullups, dips ALL work muscles you're using when you press a bar up, as well as strengthen the less significant muscle groups you use to keep the bar under control) you'll also increase your numbers faster. Squats and dead lifts alone are easily the two most useful lifts for strengthening your body in ways you USE it, such as squatting down and bending over to pick things up. Everything else is just supplemental and balancing.

[CezeN]

Well, before I got the idea to work out during my free periods at school, I only worked out with a set of bodylastic elastic bands, and pretty much worked out every area of my body, except my legs.
However, I found the chest excercises extremely lacking and ineffecient. They didnt give me anywhere near the soreness I felt when I started benching again.
So, for the last 2-3 weeks Ive pretty much only focused on benching, and neglected my Bodylastics. Except today when I worked my biceps and forearms after I got back from school...

So yeah, it wont be long till I get back into routine using both my Bodylastics AND the bench at school.

Also - I've been spending more like 40-45 minutes only using the bench :3

[CezeN]

Also pushups and dips don't do s*** for my body.

[Wil]

Typically you stop feeling "sore" from working out after a few weeks. The initial soreness is just your body essentially over-reacting from the muscles having been worked. Just because you don't feel sore or tired doesn't mean you aren't progressing. In fact, I'm very much tempted to say that if you continue to feel sore after a few weeks of steady lifting then you're probably pushing too hard. Just because you don't feel anything the next day doesn't mean you didn't do enough work. Get that out of your head right now.

General rule: Elastic bands are crap. Don't use them if you have access to free weights. Elastic bands provide an increasing amount of resistance over the length of the movement, which is detrimental, and are inferior to lifting a free weight. Not only this, but free weights better work your stabilizer muscles allowing your body to learn to control weight across a range of movement.

Isolation lifts are also crap. Isolation lifts are movements that work only one primary muscle, such as bicep curls. Compound lifts are far superior to isolation in that compound lifts are movements involving many significant muscle groups. Bench pressing is a good example of a compound lift as it works not only your chest, but your forearms, your biceps, your triceps, your shoulders, and every muscle in between to stabilize the bar in the air so it doesn't shake. Pull ups work your forearms, your biceps, triceps, shoulders, lats, and back. Overhead presses work your shoulders, lats, forearms, biceps, triceps. Inclined DB rows work your back, shoulders, forearms, lats, biceps, triceps. Dead lifts work your forearms, lower back, and glutes. Squats work your abs, glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves.

Now, I'm not saying isolation lifts, elastics, and even machines aren't useful, but for the purpose of lifting weights for a general increase in size, strength, or tone they are inferior.

There is no need to work your forearms, for example, when you're holding on to a bar and lifting yourself up to it (pull ups), or holding on to a bar and lifting it with your back (dead lifts). You'll work your forearms far more effectively doing these things than you ever would doing them in isolation.

If push ups and dips "don't do s***" for your body, then make them more difficult. Fill a backpack with school books and put your feet up on a high bench, for example. Change the width of your hands. Use only one hand. Do them on your fingers. All of these things not only increase the difficulty but also target many different muscle groups.

You shouldn't ever "focus on benching" or any singular lift for any length of time unless you are recovering from an injury to that area and you are trying to slowly build strength back up. Just because your chest is "lacking" doesn't mean you should neglect the rest of your body. Benching should be included in your routine, but it shouldn't at all be a significantly biased lift in it.

[zeroguy]

Dude, are you seriously taking workout advice from Elmo?

[Wil]

Dude. Elmo knows his stuff. He even has his own exercise DVD.

[Satya]

Plyometric pushups (http://www.exrx.net/Plyometrics/ClapPushUp.html). And are you doing "real" dips (http://www.incredibody.com/images/gdip59.jpg) or dips on a chair?

I do chest/tri twice a week, back/shoulders twice and legs/biceps once for a total of 5 a week with two rest days.

A typical chest/tri day:

6 sets on bench - a warmup at 135 x 12 reps, three sets at 225 of 8-10 reps, then I strip it back down to 135 and do a set or two with chains (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/312 ... 76fb8c.jpg - about 30-40 pounds each). This makes it a "progressive weight" lift, where as you lower it, some of the chain is on the ground making the weight closer to 150, whereas at the top of the lift it's closer to 200. That's bench.

Then I do a mini-circuit of 5 sets of dumbbell chest flyes at 50 lbs and tricep pulldowns at around 90, 10-12 reps.

Then an incline chest press at 135, 5 sets 8-12 reps with an overhead tricep extension at 50 lbs using a "hammer" bar. (http://www.uniquefit1.com/images/view/524) I like it because it forces your grip to remain constant throughout, palms facing each other.

I'll keep the weight on that and use it for close-grip bench for the last lift of the day.

Then I'll do some plyometric pushups and true dips to finish off the strength training portion of the workout, onto cardio; usually 15 minutes of wind sprints followed by 15 minutes of speed bag/heavy bag and shadow boxing finished by 15 minutes on a stepper or around the track. Unless I have the day off of work, then I play a couple pickup games of basketball.

[CezeN]

Typically you stop feeling "sore" from working out after a few weeks. The initial soreness is just your body essentially over-reacting from the muscles having been worked. Just because you don't feel sore or tired doesn't mean you aren't progressing. In fact, I'm very much tempted to say that if you continue to feel sore after a few weeks of steady lifting then you're probably pushing too hard. Just because you don't feel anything the next day doesn't mean you didn't do enough work. Get that out of your head right now.

General rule: Elastic bands are crap. Don't use them if you have access to free weights. Elastic bands provide an increasing amount of resistance over the length of the movement, which is detrimental, and are inferior to lifting a free weight. Not only this, but free weights better work your stabilizer muscles allowing your body to learn to control weight across a range of movement.

Isolation lifts are also crap. Isolation lifts are movements that work only one primary muscle, such as bicep curls. Compound lifts are far superior to isolation in that compound lifts are movements involving many significant muscle groups. Bench pressing is a good example of a compound lift as it works not only your chest, but your forearms, your biceps, your triceps, your shoulders, and every muscle in between to stabilize the bar in the air so it doesn't shake. Pull ups work your forearms, your biceps, triceps, shoulders, lats, and back. Overhead presses work your shoulders, lats, forearms, biceps, triceps. Inclined DB rows work your back, shoulders, forearms, lats, biceps, triceps. Dead lifts work your forearms, lower back, and glutes. Squats work your abs, glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves.

Now, I'm not saying isolation lifts, elastics, and even machines aren't useful, but for the purpose of lifting weights for a general increase in size, strength, or tone they are inferior.

There is no need to work your forearms, for example, when you're holding on to a bar and lifting yourself up to it (pull ups), or holding on to a bar and lifting it with your back (dead lifts). You'll work your forearms far more effectively doing these things than you ever would doing them in isolation.

If push ups and dips "don't do s***" for your body, then make them more difficult. Fill a backpack with school books and put your feet up on a high bench, for example. Change the width of your hands. Use only one hand. Do them on your fingers. All of these things not only increase the difficulty but also target many different muscle groups.

You shouldn't ever "focus on benching" or any singular lift for any length of time unless you are recovering from an injury to that area and you are trying to slowly build strength back up. Just because your chest is "lacking" doesn't mean you should neglect the rest of your body. Benching should be included in your routine, but it shouldn't at all be a significantly biased lift in it.

My point was if after the months I spent doing chest excercises with elastics, I felt sore immediately while benching the first time, then benching must be far superior to the chest excercises I was doing before.

And, if I was getting jipped by those prior excercises, I'm currently overcompensating for it by only focusing on benching right now.

Also, I don't understand all the science behind it, and I'm skeptical to trust just anybody about there interpretation(since I don't know whether they know what they're talking about)but I wouldn't agree that "elastic bands are crap". They for sure have a more variety of excercises that you can do with them, then any single weight. Since they don't retain momentum, they definitely hurt your joints less. They are also easier to transport than free weights and cheaper.

Also, I've been doing "pullups" for years now, so excuse me if I'm skeptical of your claims - because I haven't noticed any difference.
I'll take my chance with the isolation.

Also, already did make the them more difficult. Already did change my hand widths, and no I can't do a one handed pushup.
Before I had access to gym or elastic bands, my primary workout routine consisted of
1. Pushups 10-15
then
2. Situps 10
3. Pullups 2-4(is all I could do)
4. Bicep curls
This for like an hour to two.
Since I didn't notice any difference with the pushups, I tacked on my old backpacks which had all my papers from the previous year. Heavy as fck.
They still didn't do s***.

It wasn't only till like a year ago that I started dips, but still they gave the same results as the pushups.

Last paragraph, I disagree.

[CezeN]

Satya, I was talking chair dips.

[Syphon the Sun]

Cezen, if you don't mind my asking, how much do you weigh? That's pretty much the easiest test for whether your upper body strength is particularly lacking. If I remember correctly, for "average" upper-body strength, you should, at a minimum, be able to bench-press your weight.

My lifting routine is mostly a mixture of the team routine from high school and college. It only involves three days a week with a day of rest between each workout (MWF, usually). I know it's probably not as intense as a lot of the routines being talked about, but it worked for me while I was playing football.


Day 1:
Bench - 3 sets of 12, 10, and 8.
Military Press - 3 sets of 8.
Close grip bench press - 3 sets of 12, 10, and 8.
Barbell curls - 3 sets of 8.
Dumbbell sit-ups - 3 sets of 20.
Cable Pushdowns - 3 sets of 20.
Squat - 3 sets of 8.

Day 2:
Power clean - 3 sets of 6.
Deadlift (hexbar) - 3 sets of 8.
Dumbbell sit-ups - 3 sets of 20.
Cable Pushdowns - 3 sets of 20.
Dumbbell curls - 3 sets of 8.
Military Press - 3 sets of 8.

Day 3:
Towel bench - 3 sets of 15, 12, and 10.
Box squat - 3 sets of 15.
Barbell curls - 3 sets of 8.
Dumbbell sit-ups - 3 sets of 20.
Cable Pushdowns - 3 sets of 20.
Military Press - 3 sets of 8.

[CezeN]

I weigh about 130.

However, I have the body of a runner. So, whether I bench 70 or 140, my body looks exactly the same. It has something to do with my superfast metabolism which influences the fact that I have a super low percent of body fat and hard time putting on muscle.

I find that though I have gotten stronger than my freshman year of benching 70, I don't look any different. So, I'm trying to put on some muscle mass.

[Wil]

My point was if after the months I spent doing chest exercises with elastics, I felt sore immediately while benching the first time, then benching must be far superior to the chest exercises I was doing before.

Soreness is a poor indicator of a lot. All soreness means is that you were using a muscle in a way you don't normally use it, you did so for an extended period of time, and now lactic acid buildup in your muscles resulted in Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Once you do this exercise for a few weeks, your body learns to deal with the lactic acid more efficiently and you stop feeling as sore from the workout.

And, if I was getting jipped by those prior excercises, I'm currently overcompensating for it by only focusing on benching right now.

Overcompensation is bad, mmkay.

Also, I don't understand all the science behind it, and I'm skeptical to trust just anybody about there interpretation(since I don't know whether they know what they're talking about)but I wouldn't agree that "elastic bands are crap". They for sure have a more variety of excercises that you can do with them, then any single weight. Since they don't retain momentum, they definitely hurt your joints less. They are also easier to transport than free weights and cheaper.

They are crap for general weight lifting. Look it up some time, and avoid websites that sensationalize them. The fact of the matter is, as you move a band across a range of movement the band is providing an increasing amount of resistance. That is to say, it starts out easy, and by the end it has reached a peak resistance. This is neither optimal nor is it the way in which muscles work. A box doesn't get heavier the higher up lift it. Your body doesn't get heavier the further you push or pull it.

Lifting weights, and working out, increase your joint health and strength. Why? Because of the extra strain you place on them when running or lifting weights forces the body to strengthen the bones, tendons, and ligaments for the entire body.

Also, I've been doing "pullups" for years now, so excuse me if I'm skeptical of your claims - because I haven't noticed any difference.
I'll take my chance with the isolation.

Then. Make. Them. Harder. Can do to them with varying grips? Can do you do them as if hanging on to a rope? Can you do them with weight strapped around your hips? Can you do them one handed?

Also, already did make the them more difficult. Already did change my hand widths, and no I can't do a one handed pushup.

(Emphasis mine)
Then obviously you haven't peaked out yet. Try doing these if you claim everything else is so much easier.

This for like an hour to two.

An hour of two of push ups, sit ups, pull ups, and the entirely pointless bicep curls is a huge waste of time. Notice how Satya's routine not only varies the exercises he does, but also only takes probably around an hour for only the weight lifting? There's a reason for that.

They still didn't do s***.

It wasn't only till like a year ago that I started dips, but still they gave the same results as the pushups.

How did they not "do s***"? If you're getting stronger, they are "doing s***". You'll have to be a little more specific.

Last paragraph, I disagree.

That's nice. I disagree with everything you've posted, and I've done so in a thought out, logical way. If I could have just posted "I disagree" without trying to assist or explain, then I would have gratefully done so from the beginning.

I'm not trying to throw you off track or degrade what you're doing or have done. Everything I've said is freely verifiable on the internet in many different places. Everything I've said has been put to practice personally which has not only helped me drop forty pounds of fat, but also put on muscle and increase my strength greatly. If I were at all incorrect in anything I said, and you have an argument to support that, I'd love to see more than "I disagree" from you. All I want to do is help you get the most out of your time. I've spent six years of my life reading, attempting, failing, and restarting - all I am attempting to do is pass along the information that helped me succeed the best.

ETA:

What Syphon posted even shows the design of a good routine. It combines different lifts and involves the entire body. While it involves compound and isolation exercises on both free weights and machines (no bands), it is still a very good routine. There is nothing wrong with isolation lifts, and using machines has improved safety benefits. I have simply stated that compound lifts with free weights are more efficient and provide more benefits.

If you want to build muscle mass, the best known way to do so is to do reps in the 3-6 range with weight that causes you to fail (that is, be unable to move the weight) within that range. Not only that, but you must eat above maintenance (greater than BMR + Daily Activity).

[CezeN]

Then. Make. Them. Harder. Can do to them with varying grips? Can do you do them as if hanging on to a rope? Can you do them with weight strapped around your hips? Can you do them one handed?

Didn't I already do that with my pushups, with no results? Yes.

(Emphasis mine)
Then obviously you haven't peaked out yet. Try doing these if you claim everything else is so much easier.

Okay, obviously you haven't understood. I don't care about strength, I care about mass.

An hour of two of push ups, sit ups, pull ups, and the entirely pointless bicep curls is a huge waste of time. Notice how Satya's routine not only varies the exercises he does, but also only takes probably around an hour for only the weight lifting? There's a reason for that.

Is it a huge waste of time when you don't have access to a gym?
Rhetorical question. Back then, I didn't have a huge variety of excercises that I could do. I didn't have any weights or machines or a gym membership, except two 5 pound dumbbells, so what would you have suggested?

How did they not "do s***"? If you're getting stronger, they are "doing s***". You'll have to be a little more specific.

They didn't do s*** for my muscle mass. Nontheless, I didn't seem to get much stronger either.

That's nice. I disagree with everything you've posted, and I've done so in a thought out, logical way. If I could have just posted "I disagree" without trying to assist or explain, then I would have gratefully done so from the beginning.

How about, I disagree because that's what I want to focus on?
Obviously, if I'm fine with other parts of my body, such as my abs, I'm not going to work on them as much or at all. However, if I don't have anywhere near a high self-esteem about my upperbody - why not focus on the area that will improve my self-esteem?

[Satya]

If you're doing everything in the way it's supposed to be done and still not seeing results (unlikely but possible) then the issue must be nutrition and supplementation.

How much/what kind/when are you taking a protein supp? Does it have enough/the right mix of amino acids? Are you using creatine? What's your diet like? Lastly, are your workouts intense enough to stimulate muscle growth?

[CezeN]

I doubt my parents would agree to buy protein supps, so I drink milk instead after a workout, for my protein.

Two glasses.

And, currently I've been usually trying to eat more or as much as possible on the days that I workout.

However, just today I was talking with this girl. And she said something about really skinny guys, but then said something about how I'm not really the skinny she's talking about and that I have some muscle - so I guess I am getting arm results.

Maybe I'm just the one not seeing it?

[Satya]

Bodybuilding.com

Or just Wal-Mart, for that matter. 20 bucks.

Anyone who does any strength training should take supplemental protein. Heavy exertion like that just can't be adequately compensated for nutritionally unless you were eating like a caveman, constant meat.

Two glasses of milk is about 15 grams of protein. A SINGLE scoop of most cheap protein powders is at least 20 (but usually 24-25). You should shoot for about half your weight in grams of protein a day. If you're about 140 shoot for 70 grams. Are you getting at least that much every day nutritionally? Probably not. Your muscles crave protein within a crucial hour window after strength training - don't feed 'em right, and you've basically wasted half the workout.

If you absolutely, positively cannot use/get a protein powder supplement, at the very least you can buy up a few protein bars. I don't like that they're full of other stuff - sugar and carbs - but at least you'll get about 20-30 grams of protein per bar. Down one within 45 minutes of the workout. Some have as much as 35 grams of protein and some also come with amino acids (another crucial component of musclebuilding.)

You can also get pre-made protein drinks in a can. But powder is the best way to go, simplest and easiest. You do it yourself, adjust the amounts for your own body and personal goals. And the sheer variety of different protein powder types out there means that whether your looking for leaner muscle (like me, I'm at 5'11" 185 lbs and I want to be at 175) or you're 135 trying to get to 150, there's a protein for you. Mass gainers are made specifically for people like you. I myself use a lipotropic protein (one that binds in the cells under heat to simultaneously burn calories and build/repair muscle) - I got a FIVE POUND jug for 25 bucks at bodybuilding.com. Then for 10 bucks at walmart I got a tub of glutamine (a crucial supplement for making faster recoveries, since I workout 5 times a week) and for 20 got a huge tub of creatine that will likely last about 3 months.

Bottom line, protein is king. Most people, even if they don't workout, don't get enough lean protein. And whey (my preferred type), especially whey isolates, is the best form in my opinion.

[CezeN]

You said there's a one hour window after strength training, but I thought that your body only works to rebuild your muscles using your protein when you go to sleep?

But anyways, guess I'll try to get the protein powder. However, how long would it last for me?
Like, you say since I'm at 140, I should try to down at least 70 grams
Which is about 4 scoops, according to you.

So, if I'm downing 4 scoops every other day, about how long will it last?

Because, I'm trying to calculate whether it will be too much of an unecessary expenditure for my parents - this depends on how long it will last and how much a month or week they'd have to shell out for it.(since, aside from the unemployment, our income is around 38,000)

I honestly wouldn't want to bother them with something that's pretty much unecessary compared to bills and everything else.

[Wil]

All forms of whey contain free glutamate (like MSG) due to how the whey is processed, which is an excitotoxin.

[CezeN]

All forms of whey contain free glutamate (like MSG) due to how the whey is processed, which is an excitotoxin.

Lol, can you translate this for me?

[Wil]

Glutamate is found in two forms: "bound" glutamate (linked to other amino acids forming a protein molecule) and "free" glutamate (not linked to protein). Free glutamate is an excitotoxin. That is to say, as the glutamate comes in to contact with neurons in our bodies it causes them to 'get excited' and fire faster. This will last for several hours, causing cell damage, and eventual cell death. This is bad for obvious reasons.

Free glutamate stimulates the pancreas in to producing insulin, even if there are no carbs for the insulin to act upon. This will result in a blood sugar spike and eventual crash, leading to a feeling of hunger.

There is also no blood-brain barrier around the hypothalamus which allows for the hypothalamus to become damaged by free glutamate's and other excitotoxins. Studies have shown that this might be a leading cause of obesity.

A lot of people are overly sensitive to excitotoxins as well, manifesting in symptoms such as migraines, insomnia, and stomach ache.

Of course, I should correct myself. This website shows that perhaps the more expensive whey protein isolates may be less likely to contain free glutamates. I'm also inclined to believe that the majority of problems with whey protein is the flavor and sweetener additives and not the whey itself. Of course, whey by itself tastes terrible, so that's why they flavor the hell out of it.

[CezeN]

Expensive protein shakes wouldn't be the ones I'd buy.

But anyways, do any of you know if drinking 9 glass of milk in one day would be bad? My milk says it has 8 grams of protein.

And, though I don't usually drink milk a lot and never have, I'd be willing to drink more, like 6 glasses or 7 glasses, while letting my meals give me the rest of the protein I need.

So, would 7-9 glass of milk 3 days of the week be bad?

[Wil]

Have you ever heard of GOMAD? It stands for Gallon-Of-Milk-A-Day. Of course, that doesn't mean you need to drink a gallon every day. Check it out, it might be right up your alley.

[CezeN]

Haha thanks dude.

Though, I'd go through too much milk too fast if I did near a gallon or 9 cups.

However, my mom always complains I don't drink enough milk. And I don't. In fact, half of the time we'll have left over expired milk.

So, I doubt there'd be any problem in me increasing my milk intake to like 7 cups.(so, 56 grams of protein on workout days, with my meals filling in the remain 14 that I need to get to the 70 gram mark)