[guitarguy90]

So...I've started lifting weights on a (semi) regular basis, and was wondering what a good routine would be. I try to lift Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, and my routine is bench press, curls, tricep extensions, then lateral and front shoulder flies. For bench press, I start with an easy warm up set of 10, then two sets of 5-10 (However many I can do) with a heavier load, then an easy cool-down set of 10. With everything else I do three sets of ten. As of yet, I don't have a routine for mid and lower body, other than leg presses every once in a while. Can anyone recommend a different routine? Right now I'm not really experiencing any gains.

[sabertooth181]

Here is a thread that has some good info. http://www.christianguitar.org/forum...d.php?t=149858
I have been lifting weight consistently for five years now. My workout is football based though, so I am not that much help. Here is a four week program that I have found to be successful for bench press.
Week 1---3 sets of 3. As much weight as you can do.
Week 2---5 sets of 5. Once again do as much weight as you can. It will obviously be lower than week 1. You will have to try out different weights until you get a grasp on what you can do for each week.
Week 3---5,4,3,2,1 As you go down in reps, go up in weight
Week 4---10,8,6

[Sean]

There have been so many weight lifting threads this last week....I love it!

Originally Posted by guitarguy90

So...I've started lifting weights on a (semi) regular basis, and was wondering what a good routine would be. I try to lift Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, and my routine is bench press, curls, tricep extensions, then lateral and front shoulder flies. For bench press, I start with an easy warm up set of 10, then two sets of 5-10 (However many I can do) with a heavier load, then an easy cool-down set of 10. With everything else I do three sets of ten. As of yet, I don't have a routine for mid and lower body, other than leg presses every once in a while. Can anyone recommend a different routine? Right now I'm not really experiencing any gains.

What are your goals? Are you doing anything special with your diet? Whats your general body type?

Originally Posted by sabertooth181

Here is a thread that has some good info.

The link doesn't work properly. The address is correct but theres an extra http:// in it.

[guitarguy90]

Originally Posted by sabertooth181

Here is a thread that has some good info.http://www.christianguitar.org/forums/showthread.php?t=149858

I have been lifting weight consistently for five years now. My workout is football based though, so I am not that much help. Here is a four week program that I have found to be successful for bench press.
Week 1---3 sets of 3. As much weight as you can do.
Week 2---5 sets of 5. Once again do as much weight as you can. It will obviously be lower than week 1. You will have to try out different weights until you get a grasp on what you can do for each week.
Week 3---5,4,3,2,1 As you go down in reps, go up in weight
Week 4---10,8,6

Thanks...I'll check out that link.

Originally Posted by Sean

What are your goals? Are you doing anything special with your diet? Whats your general body type?

My goals are...to get stronger I'm not really doing anything with my diet, other than eating one or two cans of tuna each day. I'm probably going to get some whey protein supplement too. My general body type is pretty skinny. Not unhealthily skinny, just not much fat. At 6'0", I weigh about 145lbs, and have a 31" waist line.

EDIT: I just looked at that link. Is it best to work each group of muscles only once a week? I see that you two did a different muscle group every day. I've always worked out the same group three times a week.

[Sean]

My general body type is pretty skinny. Not unhealthily skinny, just not much fat. At 6'0", I weigh about 145lbs, and have a 31" waist line.

I had those exact same measurements 1 year ago. From age 16 to 24 my weight was consistently between 140 and 150. I started lifting and dieting a year ago when I got engaged. Since last October my weight has been between 170 and 190.

Originally Posted by guitarguy90

My goals are...to get stronger

I asked because everyones answer isn't "to get stronger." For some increased strength is just a means to an end. Some people want bigger arms and a six pack. Some people, like myself a year ago, just want to get big.

I'm not really doing anything with my diet, other than eating one or two cans of tuna each day. I'm probably going to get some whey protein supplement too.

Eating two cans of tuna each day is actually a REALLY good start. Adding some whey protein is not a bad idea.

I'll write more later and answer any questions, but in short, if you want to get stronger you have to gain muscle to gain muscle you'll have to gain weight and to gain weigh you have to eat more calories. Your diet is just as important (I would argue its more important) as your time in the gym. Since you're most likely a hard gainer like myself, no matter how much you lift, as long as you aren't out eating your metabolism, you won't gain weight so you wont' gain muscle so you won't see significant gains.

Important Things to Know About Mass Gaining Diets:

• Its better to eat 6 small meals than 3 big meals. By eating 6 meals you give your body a constant supply of nutrients. When you only eat 3 meals per day you have 5-12 gaps between meals. When you go over 3 or 4 hours without food your body starts breaking down the muscles to get amino acids. Also by eating 6 meals per day you keep your metabolism running so you're less likely to store fat. Finally, when you eat 3 big meals you'll also tend to eat more at meal than your body can metabolize and use at that time...which leads to fat storage.
• Your first meal of the day should be right when you wake, and your last meal of the day should be right before you go to bed. These are probably the two most important meals of the day. In the morning your metabolism is at its fastest and muscle eating hormones are at their peak. By eating breakfast you stop your body from turning to itself to get nutrients. Likewise, you have to eat a high protein, low carb meal before bed so you can provide your body with the nutrients it needs while you sleep. If you don't it will breakdown your muscles for amino acids.
• To gain mass you need to eat 18+ times yours lean body weight in calories on weight days, and 400 calories less than that on non-weight days. I actually have to eat 20 times my lean body weight to gain mass, but 18 is a good starting point. I'll assume you have 10% body fat for simplicities sake, therefore you have roughly 14.5 pounds of fat. So your lean body mass is about 130.5. That means you should eat at least 2349 calories on weight training days. If you don't start gaining weight and strength eating that many calories, then up your calorie intake by 200 calories.
• There's no perfect formula, but you probably want to eat around 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fats (particularly omega-3 fats found in things like flaxseed oil). So if you're on a 2,349 calorie diet, that means you need to eat 176 grams of protein, 234 grams of carbs, and 78 grams of fat on weight training days. On non-weight training days you should eat 176 grams of protein, 134 grams of carbs, and 78 grams of fat.
• If want to avoid gaining fat then avoid simple carbs (sugars), particularly in your last 2 meals of the day.
• Its a good idea to try and eat 25g of fiber everyday, and drink 100 oz of water.

Like I mentioned earlier, eating 2 cans of tunes each day is a good start. A 6oz can has 36 g of protein. Two cans is equal to 72 grams of protein. If you have a scoop of whey protein with breakfast (roughly 20 g) and one right before before bed, thats 112 grams of protein already. If you have two scoops of protein for breakfast and two before bed (which is what I do), then thats 152 grams of protein.

EDIT: I just looked at that link. Is it best to work each group of muscles only once a week? I see that you two did a different muscle group every day. I've always worked out the same group three times a week.

Yes, for most people (particularly skinny guys) and body parts it is best to train them only once per week. You gain muscle while resting, not while in the gym, and to gain muscle and get stronger you must lift heavy. If you're working a body part with heavy weights 3 times per week, those muscles are in a constant state of shock and don't have time to full recover. Therefore they don't have time to get bigger, and you're not at full strength at any of your workouts (so you can't lift as heavy). There are a few smaller muscle groups (like the abs) which recover faster and can therefore be worked more than once per week.

Weigh Training for Mass Tips:

• Work each body part only once per week. I've already explained this.
• Lift with free weights, not machines. To put on mass you need to work as many muscles as possible and really put your body under stress. Machines remove the need for stabilizer muscles, and they tend toward isolation exercises. You may be able to lift more weight with machines, but you're working less muscles and putting less stress on your body.
• Focus on compound lifts. Once again, to put on mass you need to put your body under as much stress as possible. Compound lifts involve prime movers, synergist muscles, and stabilizers. Therefore you're really working your muscles and you're able to lift more with these exercises. Also, since they work so many muscles, you don't have to do as many exercises. Finally, the more muscles use in an exercise, the more growth hormones are released (this is another reason why free weights are better than machines). Isolation exercises release the least amount of growth hormones. However, deadlifts and squats (two rather unpopular exercises) cause the release of the most growth hormones.
• Keep your workouts as close to an hour as possible. If you lift over an hour, your cortisol levels (a hormone which breaks down muscles) raise to high and you start being counter productive. This is another reason why its best to focus on compound lifts rather than countless isolation exercises.

COMPOUND LIFTS

• Bench Presses (works the chest, shoulders, tricep)
• Overhead Presses (shoulders, tricep)
• Pull-ups/Barbell Rows (back, bicep)
• Squats (legs, lower back)
• Deadlifts (legs, back, shoulders)
• Bar Dips (shoulders, chest, arms)

I organize my workouts and group my muscles based on which muscles are used in the compound lifts for that day. Thus, bench press uses pecs, shoulders and triceps. Therefore thats my first day. Rowing movements use back and biceps. Therefore they're grouped together.

If I were you, I would do something like this (this is actually VERY close to what I do right now myself).

Tuesday - Chest - Shoulders - Triceps

• Bench Press
• Incline Press
• Shoulder Press/Military Press
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press or Arnold Press - I prefer the Arnold Press
• Close-Grip Bench Press Superset with Tricep Extensions

That's actually the exact workout I did last night with my wife.

Thursday - Back - Biceps

• Pull Ups
• Barbell Rows
• Single Arm Dumbbell Rows
• Cable Pulldowns
• Seated Rows
• Reverse Grip Bicep Curls
• Preacher Curls Superset with Incline Dumbbell Curls
• Shrugs

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 Press
• Calf Raises (seated or standing)
• If you have access to machines, you can use them to finish off your legs
• Incline weighted crunches
• Incline Twisting Sit Ups
• Hanging Leg Raises

Besides the lunges, this is what I do right now. Sometimes, if I have the energy, I'll work my abs on one of the other days too.

In addition to what is listed here, I'll occassionally do front raises, side (lateral) raises, and rear raises for my shoulders, pectoral flyes and cable crossovers for my pecs, and wrist curls for my forearms. However, I didn't list them above because they're all extra isolation exercises.

Most all of the information I'm posting is coming from the Gaining Mass Program by Anthony Ellis. His program is designed specifically for skinny guys looking to put on some muscle. He used to be really skinny, but then he started his program and put on 32 pounds of muscle in 12 weeks. If you go to the webpage, the mass tips section has a number of helpful articles. He's also written a number of articles for this site, which also has lots of good content. His articles for that site can be found here.

[guitarguy90]

Wow...that's a lot of stuff. I think I'll just try the lifting first, before I get into the whole diet thing. What is a good number of sets and reps per set to do? I did 5x5 on bench press, then 3x10 on the rest.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by guitarguy90

Wow...that's a lot of stuff. I think I'll just try the lifting first, before I get into the whole diet thing. What is a good number of sets and reps per set to do? I did 5x5 on bench press, then 3x10 on the rest.

For bench I normally do one warm up set of 10. Then I do 3 or 4 sets where I'm unable to do more than 7. Sometimes I'll keep increasing the weight each set until I can only do 2 or 3 reps. Immediately after the final set, I drop the weight by 40% and do a burn set of as many reps as I can.

[katmetal]

Wow...that's a lot of stuff. I think I'll just try the lifting first, before I get into the whole diet thing. What is a good number of sets and reps per set to do? I did 5x5 on bench press, then 3x10 on the rest.

They say nutrition is more than 1/2 the battle. At least make sure you are eating a "clean" diet with ample protein. You will be spinning your wheels otherwise...

Have Fun!

[Sean]

Originally Posted by guitarguy90

Wow...that's a lot of stuff. I think I'll just try the lifting first, before I get into the whole diet thing.

Even if you don't get into the whole diet thing (which I can understand), I would still HIGHLY recommend that you pick up some protein powder. As katmeal said, diet really is more important than lifting for most people. If you aren't giving your body the protein it needs, it simply isn't possible to gain muscle...therefore you can't get much stronger. Simply adding a protein shake right when you wake and right before bed can make a difference.

[katmetal]

Simply adding a protein shake right when you wake and right before bed can make a difference.

Right now I'm not really experiencing any gains.

See the correlation? The body needs to be fed in order to grow; the car won't run without any "gas" in the tank.

As Sean suggested;
A Protein shake when you wake and right before bed.

I would also add;

A shake right after your workout (within 20 min.)
A Quality Multivitamin/mineral supplement daily.
6-8 glasses of water daily. (Got to keep properly hydrated)

You really need to eat at least 4 normal sized meals per day, some bodybuilders will go to 6 or 7+, I just don't have quite that much time on my hands. But at least try to shoot for 4 evenly spaced meals, to keep a steady flow of nutrients & proper hormonal levels in check.
With what Sean & I have posted, that is pretty much the bare minimum for growth. If possible, you should custom tailer your diet with more detail, but this will at least get you in the ballpark.

BTW, if you don't get the proper amount of protein, you body could actually go "catabolic", resulting in a loss of size; Your body will not function properly or grow without the fuel it needs, & it is designed to perform the "low level" functions first, meaning that it will "starve" the muscle of the protein/nutrients that it needs & redirect them towards normal body function.

Diet is more important than you think...

[sportsman123]

i lift any time i can

[guitarguy90]

Sorry to bring up this dead thread, but I thought I'd give an update. Shortly after I started this thread, I started using the workout schedule Sean provided. As for my diet, I drink three scoops of protein powder (morning, after workout, night) and eat two cans of tuna on days that I lift, and one scoop of powder and one can of tuna on days I don't lift. It's been working fairly well so far, but I'm still not experiencing huge gains.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by guitarguy90

It's been working fairly well so far, but I'm still not experiencing huge gains.

In your weight, your lifts or both?

[guitarguy90]

Both.

[Sean]

Are you noticing changes in the mirror?