[Iceman-bass14]

Originally Posted by Bingxactly!

haha me neither... i don't really work my legs much.. i should but i'm lazzzzzzyyyyyy.

Well ive starting working them out every week doing a workout routine provided by Sean i just cant do a lot of weight.

[guitarguy90]

Originally Posted by DaGeek

Well, whether it's stupid or not would depend on what you normally do for reps. How many of, say, 200 can you normally do? Do you normally do reps that high in weight?

Last time I did squats, I did 10 with 225 after working up to a little bit.

[DaGeek]

Originally Posted by guitarguy90

Last time I did squats, I did 10 with 225 after working up to a little bit.

Well, my only suggestion would be just start out with a little bit lower weight, which I'm sure you already know. If it still hurts, hold off on it for a while, but then keep 'em going, because they're a great exercise. Just not worth killing yourself for. Good luck .

[guitarguy90]

On another note, my max bench didn't go up at all this past month, even though I'm eating ~160g protein on lifting days, and ~100 on non lifting days. This is my lift schedule:
* Bench Press
* Incline Press
* Decline press
* Close grip bench press
* Tricep extensions
* Cable pushdowns.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by guitarguy90

On another note, my max bench didn't go up at all this past month, even though I'm eating ~160g protein on lifting days, and ~100 on non lifting days. This is my lift schedule:
* Bench Press
* Incline Press
* Decline press
* Close grip bench press
* Tricep extensions
* Cable pushdowns.

Have you been doing that same routine for a couple of months?

[guitarguy90]

Yes, ever since you first suggested it. The first month, my max went up about 10lbs, then another 10 the next month and a half, then it hasn't really increased the past month and a half or so.

[scared2mosh]

is it true you cant benchpress everyday, and the only muscles you can do everyday are the core muscles?

ps im not a serious exercise guy i just do it cause i dont do sports or get much exercise

[Sean]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

is it true you cant benchpress everyday, and the only muscles you can do everyday are the core muscles?

You can...you just won't get very good results. For most muscle groups you only want to work them once (maybe twice) per week. The problem is that when you work out you tear muscle fibers. It takes several days for them to recover. So if you do bench press three times per week, your chest, shoulders and arms will be in a constant state of shock. You won't be able to lift as much and you're likely to injure yourself.

Small muscle groups (core, calves, biceps, forearm, traps) recover faster than larger muscles (back, chest, thighs). Therefore, you can work them more often. However, it's not necessarily a good idea since you want to work your whole body and get plenty of rest.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by guitarguy90

Yes, ever since you first suggested it. The first month, my max went up about 10lbs, then another 10 the next month and a half, then it hasn't really increased the past month and a half or so.

Makes sense. One part of gaining strength is gaining muscle mass, but the other part is your nervous system. Your nervous system starts to quickly figure out your routines. One way of continuing to shock your system is to add more weight each week. However, this is only effective for so many weeks. Every 8 weeks or so you have to change your routine to keep shocking your system.

One way is to take a week and replace your normal workout routine with 10X10's. With 10X10s, instead of doing 6 chest exercises, you'll only do 1 or 2 (same with shoulders). You do 10 sets of 10 reps and only rest 1 minute between sets. So on chest, shoulder, and tricep day you'd probably only do bench press, dumbbell incline press, shoulder press and whatever tricep exercise you want. You have to start with a weight you can normally do for about 20 reps. If you start heavier than that, you'll be dying by set 3.

After taking a week to do 10x10s, then change up your routine. Try something putting incline press in front of bench press and replacing decline press with dumbbell flys, cable crossovers (a personal favorite...it gives you good pectoral separation), or pullovers. For triceps, replace close-grip bench press with weighted bench dips. I'm not sure what your shoulder routine is, but swap out current exercises for something which works the shoulders in an entirely different way...i.e. keep either shoulder press or arnold press but replace one of them with lateral and front raises. After a month or two switch back to the previous routine.

[scared2mosh]

Originally Posted by Sean

You can...you just won't get very good results. For most muscle groups you only want to work them once (maybe twice) per week. The problem is that when you work out you tear muscle fibers. It takes several days for them to recover. So if you do bench press three times per week, your chest, shoulders and arms will be in a constant state of shock. You won't be able to lift as much and you're likely to injure yourself.

Small muscle groups (core, calves, biceps, forearm, traps) recover faster than larger muscles (back, chest, thighs). Therefore, you can work them more often. However, it's not necessarily a good idea since you want to work your whole body and get plenty of rest.

oh thats bad
ive been benching three sets of 50 a day where its was difficult to get them all then once it got easy i increased weight to make 30 a struggle and once 50 was easy again i added more (usually 10-15 lb increments)
i forgot to mention im not trying to bulk up im just trying to tone any suggestions on how much weight and how many sets or anything i dont want to hurt myself i just want to get some exercise

oh one last thing my current bench weight is 70 including (including the bar sense it weight 10lbs) up from 55 or 60 mind you i just starteda 2 months ago (when i benched 30) and i dont play sports and im only 14

[scared2mosh]

ps is that good or bad i weigh 127 an im 5foot 6inches

[Iceman-bass14]

Sean i just want to thank you publicly (ok may sound weird but still) for the workout routine.Its going great and since i added the protein supplement and higher protein foods on days i workout ive seen good results.(less soreness,already noticing a difference in the mirror and lifting everyday stuff,etc.)I really appreciate it!

[Iceman-bass14]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

ps is that good or bad i weigh 127 an im 5foot 6inches

Every body is different.Not neccisarily good or bad just different.And a workout that works for me (6',150lbs.) may not work for you.Thats not bad you just gotta find what works for you.

[DaGeek]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

ps is that good or bad i weigh 127 an im 5foot 6inches

No, it's not bad at all. In fact, it's relatively normal, honestly. You haven't had much time to gain the extra weight, and you most likely will as you get older, so don't worry about that.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

oh thats bad
ive been benching three sets of 50 a day where its was difficult to get them all then once it got easy i increased weight to make 30 a struggle and once 50 was easy again i added more (usually 10-15 lb increments)
i forgot to mention im not trying to bulk up im just trying to tone any suggestions on how much weight and how many sets or anything i dont want to hurt myself i just want to get some exercise

When lifting for strength, you have to lift a weight heavy enough so that you can only do 12 reps max per set (maybe even lower than that). There are three types of muscles fibers. Type IIB muscle fibers are the largest muscles and the ones which are the most likely to grow in size. These are the muscle fibers which are involved in heavy lifting. Type I muscle fibers are much smaller, don't grow much, and are involved in activities such as running. Type IIA fibers kind of switch back and fourth between the two types depending how your muscles are being used.

When you lift a weight you're able to do for 50 reps, you primarily exhaust the Type I muscle fibers, and make Type IIA fibers function like Type I. Since you aren't lifting heavy, all of your muscle fibers don't have to be involved. However, when you lift heavy (85% of your max), ALL of your muscle fibers are involved. Lifting heavy is what stimulates growth.