[Sean]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

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

It's probably average for someone your age. I benched 65 or 70 when I was 13. By the time I graduated high school it had doubled.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by 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!

You're certainly welcome. I'm glad to help. For years I tried to gain muscle, but I quickly became discouraged because of poor results. The problem was that I didn't have the right information. So I'm happy to share what I've learned over the past several years.

[Iceman-bass14]

Originally Posted by Sean

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.

You know this makes sense but i never stopped to think about it.It makes me feel better also.I normally on most of my workouts average around 7-8 reps so i guess thats good(?).

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Iceman-bass14

You know this makes sense but i never stopped to think about it.It makes me feel better also.I normally on most of my workouts average around 7-8 reps so i guess thats good(?).

7 to 8 is a good rep range. I'll normally start with somewhere between 7-10. Then I'll add weight so I can only do 7. Then more weight so I'm down to 5 reps. On bench press or bicep curls I normally keep adding weight until I'm down to only 1 or 2 reps.

[scared2mosh]

Originally Posted by Sean

It's probably average for someone your age. I benched 65 or 70 when I was 13. By the time I graduated high school it had doubled.

oh ok well i can max at about 100lbs (3 sets of 8-10)

Originally Posted by Sean

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.

so your saying do less reps w/more weight to build strength/tone

[Sean]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

oh ok well i can max at about 100lbs (3 sets of 8-10)

Your max is what you can do for just 1 rep.

so your saying do less reps w/more weight to build strength/tone

Yes.

Building strength and toning aren't the same thing. "Toning" is fairly meaningless term that people throw around.

[scared2mosh]

Originally Posted by Sean

Your max is what you can do for just 1 rep.

oh i can do more than that
do you have a suggestion for wot i should be doing on a weekly basis?

[Sean]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

oh i can do more than that

Yeah...when people want to know your max, they're looking to find out your peak strength.

do you have a suggestion for wot i should be doing on a weekly basis?

Sure.

[scared2mosh]

such as?

i want basic workout for my ams and legs

(i usually just do situps for core)

[Sean]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

such as?

i want basic workout for my ams and legs

(i usually just do situps for core)

What equipment do you have access to?

[scared2mosh]

an old bench set all i have is the weights, th bench, the bar and some smaller bars for curls

it also has this thing that you lay on your stomach and pull you legs toward you (i have no idea wot its called)

its old and ghetto style think my dad found it in the trash

[scared2mosh]

i can giveya pix if it helps

http://i18.tinypic.com/6y3vmvd_th
http://i3.tinypic.com/7ydrztk_th
http://i3.tinypic.com/8dzr0o8_th

i havent been lifting and in a few days and i would like to start again tomorrow but how many days =adequate rest between exercising same muscle groups?

[Sean]

Tuesday - Chest - Shoulders - Triceps

• Bench Press (Chest, Triceps and a bit of Shoulders)
• Incline Press (Upper Pecs)
• Shoulder Press/Military Press (Shoulders)
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press or Arnold Press - I prefer the Arnold Press (Shoulders)
• Close-Grip Bench Press Superset with Tricep Extensions (Triceps)

Thursday - Back - Biceps

• Pull Ups (back)
• Barbell Rows and/or Single Arm Dumbbell Rows (back)
• Reverse Grip Bicep Curls (forearms and biceps)
• Preacher Curls Superset with Incline Dumbbell Curls
• Shrugs (Traps)

Those are the exercises I'm doing right now. I don't necessarily do all of those row exercises each week though.

Saturday - Legs - Abs

• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Lunges
• Leg Extensions
• Calf Raises (seated or standing)
• Weighted crunches (Abs)
• Twisting Sit Ups (obliques)

[Sean]

Originally Posted by scared2mosh

i havent been lifting and in a few days and i would like to start again tomorrow but how many days =adequate rest between exercising same muscle groups?

Generally you want a day between workouts. If possible you want two days between upper body workout (Chest day versus back day). You can work your abs twice per week.

However, if you really want some substantial results, your diet is just as important as your workouts. In short, if you want to gain strength you have to gain muscle. To gain weight you have to eat more protein.

[scared2mosh]

i dont think my ghetto benchj has the tool to do eather of these
Incline Press
Preacher Curls Superset with Incline Dumbbell Curls
Leg Extensions

thnx for the help!

also should i be using my max weight for each one of these exercises especially if i dont want to bulk up just gain strength (w/out being muscle bound )