Rangsk

I'm 5'7 and weigh 127lbs. I have almost no body fat, so I'm not too worried about losing weight. I mostly want to gain muscle mass, stength, and endurance.

I've been lifting for about 6 weeks now, and I'm seeing somewhat results, but I'm wondering if could be doing more.

I'm mostly working on upper body, abs, and back, since I dance 3-4 times a week, which really works out my legs (and I worry if I try to lift weights with my legs, it could hurt my dance technique).

I (try to) lift every other day, and I do the same thing when I go. I start out doing some cadio to warm up - either the bike, or I go play some raquetball. Then I do the bench press (right now I at 85lbs, started at 65lbs), then I do inclined press with 20lb free-weights. I continue with curls with the 20lb weights, then I do a tricep machine at some low weight (it doesn't say what it is, but I know that my triceps are pretty weak). Then I do ... don't know what it's called, but you hold the bar and lift up, which gets your sholders and upper arms... I usually do this with the 30 or 35lb bar, depending on how tired my arms are by then.

For back, I do the machine where you lower the bar, and another where you bring two handles towards you. I finish off with crunches, leg lifts, and some stretching.

This takes me about an hour to do everything.

I don't know the technical terms for a lot of things... if you want me to describe them better I will try my best.

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Rangsk

Oh, I forgot to mention that I haven't gained a single pound since I started. I tend to fluctuate between 125 and 127.

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slacker00

There are many website which can cater to your workout needs. From what it seems I might suggest you use the same site that I do (www.fitrex.com). At this site you can configure yourself a workout based on a general fitness test.... you get a 12 week program for free.

I would suggest you do to a Strength and Power workout or if you are looking for size one of the Body Building workouts. I just write my days workout into a composition book and bring it in to the gym with me and take notes while I work out.

I also would suggest you do a bit of research on the type of diet you have. I am about 6'1" and weight about 190lb. I have work out 4-5 times a week (15min cardio, 1hr lifting) but I have also changed my diet in the past couple months back to my old eating habits...

If you have more questions toss them out! I would be more than happy to talk.

BTW: Do you take any supplements, protein, or vitamins?

Slacker00

Murad

Rangsk, what is your age? This is also significant. One thing you need to factor in is your diet. It will be a big pain, but you need to do some research on creating a sound diet in order for you to gain muscle mass.

As for legs hurting your dance, it wont. It is essential that you work every part of your body, especially legs if you want to gain overall size. Having large legs will not be detrimental to your dance. I study martial arts and powerlift as well. As my legs grew stronger from lifting, I noticed no decrease in my agility. And if you are worried about flexibility, having more muscle will not worsen your flexibility. At all! This is a myth.

Also, be wary of programs from magazines or websites. You can't expect to gain from the same thing that worked for others. Cookie-cutter programs are things to avoid. You need to learn to make your own program, which may take time to perfect, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Any more questions, feel free to message me.

bookerV

Some basic rules for gaining mass / muscle.

Definitely work out your legs!! Working out your legs releases a lot of testosterone into your body which is great for adding muscle mass.

Try training individual muscle groups rather than doing an upper body work out. For example, one day do chest / tri, another do back / bi, another do legs, another do shoulders. This will give your muscles the time they need to rest & repair.

High weight & low reps. That is a key thing when trying to bulk up. You want to push around as much weight as you can, but ALWAYS maintain good form. Never sacrifice form for weight. Do the max weight you can WITH good form. You dont need to do a lot of reps. Just push the high weight a few times.

EAT EAT EAT. Take in lots of protien.

This is what has worked for me. I used to be 6'5" 185, I am now 6'5" 230. And i'm a good deal leaner than I was at 185. I'm at the strongest I have ever been in my life by far. The key is just to stick with it, and give it time. It takes a long time to develop your body. Dont expect overnight results. Just be patient and stick to it. Enjoy doing and the rewards will follow.

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Good luck!!

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StephenSa

Sounds like you need to adjust your diet. Muscle needs fuel to build so give your self plenty of protein and complex carbs. You seem to get a lot of cardio, what with dancing and all so you probably need even more fuel to keep those muscles building.
Like you when I started lifting I knew hardly anything, I didn't know the names of the exercises or what exercises I should do. I hired a trainer for a while and that helped a lot. It got me on track and once I had some idea of what to do I flew off on my own. Through lots of research, internet, books and observation I learned the names of exercises, how to use the machines and the importance of free-weights. The more you learn, the more satisfied you will be with your work-out. Its great that your pushing around the iron, just keep doing it and learn as you go. It will only get better from here. For more information and inspiration you might try davedraper.com. Its a great site.

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Rangsk

Murad - I'm 19 years old.

My diet is probably a problem. I'm currently in college (I live on campus) and I keep Kosher, which makes it very difficult to get a lot of meat in my diet. I try to eat fish when I can, and I have been drinking milk with protien mix off and on (I will try to drink those more regularly). My diet mostly consists of college cooking and cafeteria food - if I wake up in time for breakfast, some eggs, cheese, bread, and hashbrowns, then for lunch and dinner it's usually something with noodles or pizza.

Thanks for aleviating my fears of working out legs. I'll do more legs from now on.

As for doing seperate muscle groups, I have been thinking of when it would be a good time to start this. I heard from a friend that it's best to start out doing everything every other day, which seems to be working fairly well. At first I was really sore the next day, and sometimes even 2 days after, but now I'm just a little stiff the next day, and I'm itching to work everything out again a day after that. I feel like I'm not really strong enough / have the endurance in my muscles to really focus on one group per session yet. Am I wrong to think that? Also, I don't know if I have time to go to the gym every day, so I'd rather have an every-other day schedule.

Thanks for all the help so far

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noahfor

not to undermine this site, but wannabebig.com is an awesome site for learning about lifting, they have some people on there that know alot

slacker00

You are on the right track. The website that I suggested (fitrex.com) isnt trying to sell anything. They will build you a framework for your workout.

I agree with everyone those... get into a rthym and workout all your musles don't ignore any!

From personal experiece I have trouble breaking the 100g of protein/day (on my 1800-2000cal diet). But it feels like I eat a ton (esp. since I eat 5 or 6 times a day).

Beefimator

Just make sure that you keep your protien high, and carbs moderate. If you are going to eat some carbs, try to make them low on the Glycimic Index(GI) For example...Oat meal in the morning. Raspberries are very low. They have a tone of fiber in them too. As for the protien, as long as you are eating three times a day, you can add a meal in between those meals. Make sure that if you do bump up the protien you make sure that you drink more water. You want to keep your kidneys flushed out.

ChrisJericho

You really need to take the protein shakes like clockwork. I have one with my cereal for breakfast and one right after my workout in the evening. Your body needs it to build the muscle mass so the shakes are very important.

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thingstodo

One thing I haven't seen mentioned her besides diet and other good sites. That is, lower reps and higher weight, once yo get used to lifting. That will add more mass if your diet is good with enough protein.

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Lunchbox7

The most important thing is to have good technique. I see all the time guys want to be hard so put as much weight on as possible then dont even lift properly which will have 2 results: 1) the lifting wont work as well and 2) they end up hurting themselves. It is much better to lift a lower weight and do it properly than lift a heavy weight with bad technique. A personal trainer will show you how to lift properly.

The other thing is this myth that you must have a massive amount of protien in your diet to bulk up. Its full of shit. The normal person should ingest 1 gram of protien for each kg of body weight. For full on bodybuilders this can be a little higher but for average joe blow it is not necessecary. If you take in more protein than you need then you just pee it straight out. Its much more important to eat alot of carbs. That way you will have the energy to work out hard. Basically your diet should be:

60-70% carbs
30% fats and
1gm for every kg of body weight.

Follow that and make sure you have adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals and you will be OK in the diet compartment.

Spanxxx

Here is a great website that I found the other day, that has some very good info. It is the National Strength and Conditioning Association. http://www.nsca-lift.org/default.asp

Take a look at their back issues of their magazine,and take a look at the one about nutrition. http://www.nsca-lift.org/Perform/backissues.asp . I like these because they are in .pdf format so you can save them and print them out if you desire.


Lunchbox7 is correct, many people eat way too much protein in their diet when trying to bulk up. Your body has to work harder to convert protein to energy than it does carbohydrates and it is not nearly as clean a fuel source. It produces more waste and is harder on the kidneys, liver, and urinary tract (see article on nutrition).

So, just be careful on the protein. Adding 20-25 mg more to your diet can definitely help you, especially if you don't eat many meats in your normal diet. Also, along with the shakes, you might try some of the meal replacement bars. Make sure to check these out though.. there are tons of them on the market and some are very high in Fat, Calories, or Carbs, or any of the above, or all of the above. Personally, I try to find ones relatively low in carbs, have a moderate amount of fat (hey, it's better than eating a candy bar), and are low in sodium and cholesterol if possible,and most importantly taste somewhat worth like something you'd actually eat.

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limey

Protein should not be used as your main source for energy. It should be taken as a source to help increase muscle mass as muscles repair and rebuild bigger. You should be concentrating on your carb intake to increase your energy and effectiveness in the gym. And just to be clear, you should be looking to ingest around 1gram of protein per pound of body weight.