Telethon

Since my face is pretty Ew-ish I decided that I would instead bring my scrawny body in to shape, or at least try to. My questions are:
1. Should I eat before or after a work out?
2. What kind of food is best for muscle gains
3. How long should I work out for daily?
4. I want to mostly work on arms and chest but won't I get tired and sore after the first 5 minutes of dumbell lifting?
5. What can I do to improve my posture?

Plan9Senior

Bah, don't ever talk down on yourself like that.
Both. Never workout on an empty stomach, you will not only not have enough strength to do have an efficient workout, but you will also eat muscle as your source of energy since your body will have no food to use. Make sure that your post workout is protein and complex carb only (a protein shake works nice, so does a bowl of oatmeal and some egg whites). Nutrition is 80% of losing weight as well as gaining muscle. Without the proper pre and post workout meals, all of your efforts will have a highly reduced outcome.

Protein is the most important being that all tissue in your body is made from protein. Carbs are second important, followed by Fat. All 3 are key to gaining muscle, you just need to make sure you are getting the right amounts of each along with getting the right types of each. Try a 40/40/20 ratio, that seems to work very nice.

No more then an hour. After an hour, your body will start using muscle as a source of fuel which is bad. Also, after an hour, there is a huge hormonal drop which puts you at risk for injury due to not having proper strength to lift.

Do you want to look like a tool? Arms and chest only? That is just too silly to even comment furthar on.

Situps, and look up some good lower back exercises to do as well.

Telethon

Thanks for the answers, but could someone please answer #4? Heh, thanks.

JStrider

#4 yah at first your arms might get tired pretty quick... but do different exercises to use different muscles and you can reduce weight a little and keep going sometimes...

but you really should do some kind of lower body workout... when im working out ill usually do upper body... and some leg stuff... leg press, calf, quad, hamstring... and i run which really gives legs a nice shape... just gotta keep your upper body and lower body balanced so you dont look goofy... think of those cartoons with the body builder... huge upper body... and tiny legs... you dont want to look like that

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Plan9Senior

If you are honestly out to train only your arms and your chest then you aren't serious enough about working out to get a serious answer from anybody

Mael

well, if he just wants to work out his arms and chest, that's his perogative. don't be an ass. answer the question or don't, but don't talk down to him because you two don't have the same workout values/goals.

Plan9Senior

...ugh.. must resist...


g'damn i'm proud of myself, i resisted

Sparhawk

Big pecs, big guns?

My suggestion is to not even focus on that, but try to be more health-concious overall. The big pecs/guns will come with dedication to a healthy lifestyle.

P.S. I'm still waiting on mine... heh...

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Manwich

I "hear" (this is just from what I have read recently) that it helps to work out the opposite muscle group.

For arms, the first thing that comes to most people's minds are the biceps, but you should also work on the triceps.

For pecs, I am not really sure, but one of those back machines should do the trick.

Plan9Senior

Exercises are devided into "push" and "pull" muscle groups. A lot of people like to do all pull or all push one day and then the next time do the opposite. Example... Chest and tricep (both push exercises) or shoulders, back, biceps (all pull exercises).

Example: The reasoning behind this is that when working your chest, you will be working your triceps as well. It only makes sense to go ahead and do the triceps afterwards because they are warmed up and will be easy to tear up since they will have been used a lot during that chest workout.

Does that sound like what you read?

Manwich

No more along the lines, that your bicep strength is related to your tricep strength.

That if you only do biceps they can only get so far before you see a complete drop-off. To continue to gain in strength you need to work the triceps.

I was just mentioning this because the guy was focusing on just arms (which in my mind means biceps) and pecs. So he is likely to just bench and then do curls and call it a day.

hy_

Visit this site, http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

For arms, I workout these muscles:
Triceps Brachii
Biceps Brachii
Brachialis

and forearms:
Brachioradialis
Wrist Flexors
Wrist Extensors

You can find information on the muscles and the exercises for each muscle.

For chest, mainly

Pectoralis Major Sternal

Good Luck, be sure to stretch.

RHix613

When you talk about "big guns" you must realize that your Triceps is a larger muscle group then your Biceps. If you want big guns that "look good" you need to train your Triceps also. But, if you only want "big guns" then your little-bitty legs will draw all the attention away from them...just food for thought.

water_boy1999

Plan9, you're not being an ass. Because you have a lot of knowledge about working out, and are a certified trainer, people shoud respect what you have to say about your opinions of working out. I agreee with your response of #4, accept I would have probably answered with a slightly more reserved tone.

If someone is serious about working out, as Telethon says, then advice from an experienced person might be more helpful then guessing what the best course of action should be. If you want to workout only your arms and chest, you are definitely NOT getting the full benefit of being in shape, having good posture, or any other aspect of becomming physically fit.

Plan9Senior

Ya, I guess over the internet you aren't able to see my smile when I typed it . Some humor is difficult to convey on the web. My appologies if anybody took that as a serious dig.

Mael

well, i agree with you that he should work his whole body. but... and it's a big but... it's up to him to decide what to do. you cant' make him do anything he doesn't want to. so if he wants to know something about what he does want to do, then help him out. and maybe try to talk him into doing full body.

anyways, if sarcasm was intended (which it is, i now think based on the above post by plan9, but didn't at the time), then it wasn't apparent.

and finally, for your information, i'm also a certified personal trainer. i have my certification from the American Council on Exercise, and I'm currently studying exercise science at the university i attend. to put it simply, i know my shit. and i know my resources to find out what i don't, or if in disagreement with someone, to use as reference to support my side.

obviously, if you read some of my posts in general, i have a bit different outlook on how to do things than plan9. i don't agree with him on about 25% of what he says. does that mean i know i'm right and that i know he's wrong? no, not necessarily. YOU (and everyone else who gets advice from the internet, especially about exercise) needs to remember that exercise isn't an exact science. different things work for different people, no two people are alike. and a lot of what you might read on the internet is not right. there are a lot of "exercise myths" that are spread around even though studies have proven them false because enough pepole have said them and there's anecdotal evidence only.

i'm rambling... my points are a) just because you don't like what someone wants to do for exercise doesn't mean you should be an ass (make sure sarcasm is appearant), and b) try to get your info from multiple sources. hell, read a book on the stuff, find out info in depth. if you want some books to read, i'll pm you a few.

edit: oh, and just cause someone knows what their doing, doesn't mean that they cant' be being an ass. ex. a physics teacher who can do what he's teaching in his sleep can still be an ass to the student he's helping in office hours. it's all about attitude.

respect comes not from knowing how to do something, it's comes from how you treat others.

Plan9Senior

Bump, nice post Mael. Agreed on your points.

This field is definately ever changing, and it is good to have multiple opinions from people who study health & fitness for a living

SSJwrestler

dont eat, eat high protien foods for muscle gain, bench and bicep curls, have a freidn help you when you lift to creat good posture

rogue49

1. I prefer not to eat before a work out…if I do, I make sure that I do so sometime beforehand.
This is because the acid reflux I get from training is increased significantly if I’ve eaten.
But this is just me…I don’t know if others encounter this as much.
I definitely tend to eat after…BTW, make sure you drink “some” water during.

2. Mostly protein…however it’s necessary to have a balanced diet.
BTW…if you are looking for mass…Do heavier weights & lower number of reps.

3. I tend to work out over an hour usually up to 2…I take my time…
and make sure I have a decent breather between sets.

4. Work out everything…try to work on a certain group each time you do.
Arms & Legs, Chest & Back, Misc. & Mix-up…and I try to do stomach and a bit of cardio each time

5. This is awkward at first but try this.
I suggest hold your stomach firm (very important), your buttock/hips in slightly
Roll your shoulders up, back & down, and hold your head straight and slightly back.
But at the same time…try to be relaxed and a bit comfortable.
Kind of like…pretending you are on a close-hanger.
(your head pointing kind of up to the back, and your shoulder outward but all just hanging)
**This takes lots of practice…especially while sitting, walking or talking with others