Weight Lifting Advice

[IZAAK]

I am going to start lifting. I am a very small guy, muscle wise. I am 5'11 and 165lbs. I want to know what the best way to gain weigh, so I can build muscle. I eat some much food and don't gain anything. Are there certain things you are suppose to eat? How about that weight gainer stuff at GMC?

Also, what is the best excerise to build muscles in your arms, chest and stomach?

[Snk16]

Uh, do crunches, push-ups, and squats?

Eh, use the Total Gym or a Bowflex machine to build some muscle.

[DenverFanInGB]

I am going to start lifting. I am a very small guy, muscle wise. I am 5'11 and 165lbs. I want to know what the best way to gain weigh, so I can build muscle. I eat some much food and don't gain anything. Are there certain things you are suppose to eat? How about that weight gainer stuff at GMC?

Also, what is the best excerise to build muscles in your arms, chest and stomach?

The best way to gain weight is to have a high protein diet, maybe get some Myoplex, that works well. They have many different flavors so make sure you just try a pack first before you buy a whole carton of it. Also Creatine works really well, I highly recommend it, and it's safe. Cell-tech is probably the best brand.

You also want to eat about 5-7 smaller meals per day instead of 3 big meals a day. Chicken and rice is a bodybuilders best friend you can never go wrong with it. I usually eat 5 meals a day, 7 is on the high side if you're really serious. I eat eggs and oatmeal at 8 am, then a smaller snack at 10 like a protein drink/bar or some fruit and vegetables. Then at noon i eat chicken and rice with maybe a baked potato. Then at 3 pm i usually have some fruit and vegetables. And then supper is either chicken or fish with a baked potatoe and then a small snack around 7-8 like a protein bar or something. You also want to drink LOTS of water especially if you're taking creatine, probably a gallon a day is good. You just want to keep food in your body every 2-3 hours to help your metabolism.

As far as training here are some good exersices for someone just starting out:

Chest:

Bench press - 3 sets of 10-12 reps (use a comfortable weight, don't feel like you need to just throw on a lot of weight. Always keep your first set lighter and work your way up so you don't hurt yourself)

Incline dumbbell press - 3sets of 10

Flat bench or incline flyes- 3 sets of 10

Arms:

Biceps- either straight bar and/or dumbell curls- 3 sets of 10

Triceps- skullcrushers - 3 sets of 10
tricep pushdowns- 3 sets of 10

Stomach- crunches/leg raises or just regular sit-ups (conentrate on the movement rather then the # of reps. It's better to do 10 good sit-ups then 50 sloppy ones)

Those are some basic work outs. Try to just work out a certain body part once a week. Your muscles need time to recover so don't over do it.

Maybe try:
Chest/Triceps- Monday
Legs- Tuesday
Off Wednesday
Back/Biceps-Thursday
Shoulders-Friday
Sat. and Sunday Off

[IZAAK]

Thanks a lot for the input!

[Tony]

Thanks a lot for the input!

You can go to www.bodybuilding.com to get protein supplements at reasonable prices, alot cheaper than gnc! Very cool site

[IZAAK]

You can go to www.bodybuilding.com to get protein supplements at reasonable prices, alot cheaper than gnc! Very cool site

Thanks I'm puting it on my favorites right now.

[Johnny Law Man]

You said that you were 21? It is very difficult to gain weight at that age unless you are genetically inclined to do so. I can tell you that when you start working out regularly you will become more hungry as a result.
1.) Be sure that you are taking a daily multivitamin. I recommend GNC Mega-Men. This is a dietary supplement that you take twice daily. As with anything that is taken twice daily, try to take it at the same times every day.
2.) I recommend taking Glucosamine and Chondroitin for joint health. This is a semi-hollistic supplement that increases joint health and strengthens cartliage. This is not a must, but if you are not used to working out and you start, you will experience unprecedented joint pain. Some people are discouraged from weight-lifting because of this pain.
3.) I would advise purchasing your own equipment if you have room in your house. I bought an Olympic sized free-weight bench and free-weight cable system combo for $180.00 at Sears. The weight may cost you around $50-100 as well. you can also buy an EZ-curl bar for $15, and a set of dumbells for $30/w weight at Wal-Mart. Buy a pair of lifting gloves. You will tear up your hands if you dont. Buy a weight-lifting belt. If you get injured you are done lifting. Most gym and health club memberships run $200-300 per year. You are better off buying your own equipment because it is yours forever.
4.) Never give up! You will probably not see substantial gains in weight or a change in your appearance for at least a few weeks. If you try this, try it for 6 weeks.
5.) Document your progress. Buy a notepad and document what exercises you did on what day and how much weight you used. This will be your testamnet of progress.
6.) Buy a stop-watch. I would say to start at around 3 minutes for recovery time(Time between sets)initially until you are comfortable lifting in less time. I made adjustments in 30 second increments.
7.) Lift in front of a mirror to assure the proper form. If you do not use the proper form, you may as well give up. Benching 200lbs. does not count if your back looks like the St. Louis arch.
8.) Listen to your body. Lift when you are ready to and stop when you can't go on or it feels uncomfortable to do so.
If you or anyone else has any questions or wants to discuss this further, please PM me and I would be glad to shoot the breeze.

[West]

Yes body building supplements are best..our high school has won 7 straight weight lifting titles in the state if florida so i know what the hell im talking about so here are some examples

Cell Tech
Nitro Tech
GNC Whey Protein
Creatine
GNC Weight Gainer
NO2 (this is what i have, just started last week)


but the best thing i would recommend is Celltech

GOOD LUCK

[IZAAK]

I most likely going to go to a Gym (at the college I just graduated from). They only charge like 24 bucks a semester to work out. A semester is 15 weeks. I have no where to put a weight set in my house, so I have to go with the Gym.

[The Dark Knight]

I used to have a pretty advanced workout schedule when I was younger involving supersets and all that but now whenever I workout I just do 4 basic
exercses.

Squats, Dips, Pullups and decline bench situps.

Those are compound excercises meaning that they all take large major muscle groups to perform them. If I'm feeling up to it I'll go back and hit all the other muscles by doing some calf raises, shoulder shrugs and the like.

That seems to be enough to maintain what I have left for now


Whatever program you start, make sure you change it up ever so often. The body is highly adaptive and it may hit some walls if you don't change your routine every once and awhile. When I was working out heavy, I always liked to change it at least every 16 weeks. And I'll throw in a new excercise I've never tried before every so often as well. New excercises are the secret to gains!!

I also reccomend most of the supplemments mentioned, lots of water and a HEALTHY diet. 6 small meals a day will keep that metabolism active and help burn fat.

They say if you want gain muscle, you should take at least 1-1/2 Gms of protein per pound of body weight daily. If you load up protein like this, make sure you take lots of water so that way you crap out your innards.

[IZAAK]

I went to a gym today and got a free trial membership. I only could work out for 30 minutes or so, because the place close. Man I hurt. I never realized how out of shape I really am. I ran a 1/4 mile and thought I was going to die. It's going to take a while I can tell.

[NameUsedBefore]

Do you want muscle mass or strength?

I heard that if you want muscle mass you're supposed to do lighter weights but far more reps. If you want strength you gotta lift those heavy weights. I do a bit of both, myself. Don't overdo it, BTW, or else you'll hurt something (like I did to my back once).

[DenverFanInGB]

I went to a gym today and got a free trial membership. I only could work out for 30 minutes or so, because the place close. Man I hurt. I never realized how out of shape I really am. I ran a 1/4 mile and thought I was going to die. It's going to take a while I can tell.

Usually the first few times you'll be sore because your body isn't used to tapping into those body parts. Keep at it and you won't be as sore after you work out. That's also why it helps to use supplements like creatine & glutamine. They help with muscle recovery.

Keep it up bro!!

[PRBronco]

Hmmm, we're just about the same age, so i can tell you what works for me, and hopefully it'll help you out.
Ok, i just had a semester off, and managed to put on about 10 or 15 pounds in 4 months.
-what I found made the difference was i got to eat 3 good meals a day, cuz while i was at school i was freakin starving.
-breakfast is important, eat as much as you can in the morning
-as far as supplements go, creatine has always helped me gain weight, i take about half a teaspoon first thing in the morning, again in the afternoon and again at night (or before and after a workout on workout days)
-i also use glutamine, it's expensive, but i think it's helped too
-i worked out 4 days a week, but the workouts are short, i don't stay longer than an hour, my split is chest and biceps, legs, back, wednesday off, then shoulders and triceps, then you get the weekend off

Is this the first time you've tried weight training? Feel free to PM me for more info.

[Uula Bear]

If you wanna bulk up, then when you work out do heavy weights with low reps & more sets i.e. 6-8 reps with 4-5 sets. you'll wanna struggle to get your last rep up. I'm not an expert with the supplements, I prefer to go all natural (it impresses the ladies more too, to say "I'm all natural"). I heard creatine will help you bulk up, but after you stop taking it, you'll loose mass. If you do take stuff to bulk up, you'll wanna read everything carfully, I'd even recommend consulting with a pro before starting.