My Work out Program....

J

j-man7a

0
Ok; so i want to get bigger.... I'm about 5'11" and weigh in the 160 range...
I work out somewhat and was wondering if this schedule is good:

Sunday: 5 min warm up, Chest, Quadriceps, and Biceps
Monday: 5 min warm up, Deltoids, Trapezium, 30 min run
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 5 min warm up, Abs, and whole back, 30 min run
Thursday: off
Friday: 5 min warm up, Triceps, Abs, Calves, Run 30 min
Saturday: 30 min run

Also; I'm eating several meals a day. I don't know how much I should be eating.

Eat before work out and after work out. I eat some fruits during the day and also vegetables. I try to stay away from red meats for a while (once a week maybe...)

Let me know how i am doing. A good friend of me gave me this schedule to try it out....

thx
 
That routine is not going to cut it. Without even looking at the specifics (exercises, tonnage, etc) I can tell you you are missing a very important factor: Frequency.

You should be hitting each major muscle group multiple times per week. This is why you'll see a lot of people recommend full body workouts or upper/lower, push/pull splits. They structure the programming in a way that allows sufficient volume to be spread across multiple training days per muscle group.

Also, you've got to eat if you want to gain size. It's no secret that you have to be in a caloric surplus. I suggest plugging your diet into something like and posting up your results.
 
really? that sucks! i dont know if i'll have the time......
I do 5 machines per muscle group, 4-5 sets with 8-10 reps each, so roughly 230-250 reps per muscle group if I'm right (this is just total)

What do you recommend?
 
j-man7a said:
really? that sucks! i dont know if i'll have the time......
I do 5 machines per muscle group, 5 times with 8-10 reps each, so roughly 230-250 reps per muscle group if I'm right (this is just total)

What do you recommend?
Click to expand...

Wow. That's bad.

I recommend something like this:

Day 1:

Squat -- 3x5
Bench Press -- 3x5
Chin-ups -- **

Day 2:

Squat -- 3x5
Overhead Press -- 3x5
Deadlift -- 1x5

Day 3:

Squat -- 3x5
Bench Press -- 3x5
Pull-ups -- **

** Chin and Pull-ups are done for 3 sets to failure. For many novices, assistance will be required. Luckily, most gyms have a machine that allows you to select how much assistance you want in the upward portion of the chin or pull-up. With assistance or none, once you reach a max of 15 reps across for 3 sets, it's time to up the intensity.

Every day you add weight to the various exercises. A novice should be able to make significant gains following a routine of this nature for quite some time. Eventually progress will slow. Be sure to milk it for as long as you can. This is where the very small, incremental step-ups in weight lifted is critical. Don't be stupid. Remember, it's not a competition. It's not the amount of increase in weight that creates the positive adaptation response. It's simply the fact that there's an increase.

This is just one way to strcuture something. The possibilities are endless. You could throw in some more accessory work above and beyond chins and pulls. Some direct arm work, some pendlays/rows.... whatever.

But that should give you an idea of something more *appropriate*.
 
have time? when you increase frequency, volume (total reps) goes down. a full body workout shouldnt take more than about an hour to complete. Try to search for "full body workout" and see if you find some threads about it.
 
What will the work out my friend suggested get me? He says he gained like 15 pound or more in 3 months.... and has about 7% body fat; so i guess thats good.... i want to get toned... not just really bulky....
 
gaining 15 pounds in 3 months is a dietary issue more than training. If you eat a surpluss you will gain. It's not certain that all those 15 pounds were muscle, I'd say it's highly unlikley that it is. It's probobly alot of fat.
 
Just because you sound doubtful, I want to pop in and second everything Karky and Strout are saying.

"I do 5 machines per muscle group"

That sentence alone tells me how much is wrong with this routine.
 
well; idk; sounds like he knows his stuff... he's in med school, so he backs up all his advice with what actual process take place in the body. I know some of it, so I take it as he knows....
He does it all naturally and uses little saturated fats... beleive me, this guy does not want to gain useless weight (fat)
I think he's 5'8" ish and weighs 170ish.... and he's not fat at all. Oh and he uses no protein supplements or anything like that... just from food he eats.

Also; the routine he's shown me...... I have seen results in my body... some of my fat has gone away and my chest, biceps, quadriceps, seem bigger... more muscular if you will. My family has even noticed the results.

Im not saying you guys are wrong... believe me, I'm sure you know a lot about this stuff! im just clarifying a couple things...

so based on what stoutman said... work out 3 times a week? i want to get started on this. Thx!
 
then ask him how much muscle the body can possibly gain in a month..
and you don't learn why you shouldn't use machines in med school, I don't think you learn why you should do compound movements either. Don't take training advice from a doctor, don't take advice on how to build a house from a butcher.
 
ok; so how many days a week should i work out... and should i run. I don't want to get fat........ Do I need to get "fat" to be able to tone, because lets face it... I don't have a lot of muscle. I think i've been eating well.

Im thinking of truing stoutman's work out thing, but is it 3 sets with 5 reps? for the squat?

i dont know, but it seems like I wont be getting enough... but then again, idk.
 
If you want to put your energies towards building muscle, you're probably going to gain a little weight. Just go with it. If you start gaining too much fat, check your diet or continue to weight train and cut your calories to lose the weight. I'd not worry about it until or unless it becomes an issue. I don't run at all when bulking, other do. If it makes you feel better, go for it but it will slow your progress. The energy that should be building muscle will be expended running.

tend to to a few more exercises and reps than what strout's got above, but everyone finds what works for them. So, I generally have around 6-7 exercises, with a bit higher rep range.

As such, I'm just going to paste this straight from another article here - full credit to mreik, supermod. It's a good template for you. Do it 3-4 times a week.

A general full body workout should include:

• Quad/Glute Push Movement (squat variations)
• Ham Pull Exercise (deadlift variations)
• A Horizontal Press (bench presses)
• A Horizontal Pull (bent over row, seated row)
• Vertical Pull (chin up, lat pulldown)
• Vertical Press (shoulder press)
• Abdominal/Forearm/Calf Movements

I'd recommend putting together two routines using the above outline. Alternate them, doing ON, OFF, ON, OFF, ON, OFF, OFF.

As for reps, well, it just depends. 5x5, 3x15, 4x10, 3x8??? I'd probably go with 3x8 - 3x12 until you figure out in more detail what you want. Read up on hypertrophy versus strength, endurance, weight loss, etc. Different sets and reps are better for different kinds of results.

Now go put a routine or two together. Get a schedule. Get to the gym with your paper in hand. Do everything on your list, so that by the end you can't believe what you're doing to yourself. And when you get home, relax and feel great, write back and tell us how it went.

Good luck.
 
what do you mean off, on, off, on.... sry...

So i'm guessing doing all that in one day for 3-4 days... for example for this week: Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday

I'd need to take Tuesdays and Thursdays off since im very busy those days. Would Running on one or two "rest days" be a bad thing?

thx; i really appreciate this... :)
 
j-man7a said:
well; idk; sounds like he knows his stuff... he's in med school, so he backs up all his advice with what actual process take place in the body.
Click to expand...

Look man, it looks like you are going to do whatever you want regardless of what we say. Just get in the gym and start training. You'll learn as you go. Or, you'll be hard headed like a majority of the gym rats out there and train with stagnant progress for years on top of years without ever changing your approach. The important thing is to get in there and start moving weights.

With regards to your friend, if he's so smart, get him in the forum to back up his claims of the "processes that take place in the body."

That statement coupled with the advice he gave you tells me he's blowing smoke up your ass. The reason something like a full body routine done a few times per week is suggested IS because of the processes that take place in the body!

The "processes" that occur in the body after stress is applied via resistance training follows a wave pattern. There's an immediate decrease in the state, then an increase back to the original state, then a subsequent "supercompensation" where the body actually overcompensates for the stress.

Individiuals who prescribe once per week training (per body part) either don't know what the F they're talking about or they believe that everything follows the same wave-pattern.

Unfortunately, everything out there research-wise suggests that this isnt' the case. The mechanisms of the body affected by stress are numerous. You have neurological elements (both central and peripheral), glycogen replenishment, protein synthesis, physical damage to the muscle and so on. All of these recover on different time scales.

What you should be most concerned about is protein synthesis, which supercompensates and returns to baseline withing 48-72 hours after you train. If are only hitting that muscle once per week, that means the protein synthesis is actually detraining for 4-5 days each week.

I'd love to hear what "processes" your friend is talking about. :confused:

On another note, don't let n=1 be you sample population to draw conclusions from. Your friend had good results following a sub-optimal routine. Great.... so he's genetically gifted or *using*. If you aren't either of these, I'd suggest listening to the masses who had success rather than your n=1.

Next, as someone said above, nutrition is going to be your primary driver for postive weight fluctuations. Training merely supplies the stress to recover from.

Lastly, I'd never ever ever ever get training advice from a doctor, let alone a med student.
 
stroutman81 said:
Look man, it looks like you are going to do whatever you want regardless of what we say. Just get in the gym and start training. You'll learn as you go. Or, you'll be hard headed like a majority of the gym rats out there and train with stagnant progress for years on top of years without ever changing your approach. The important thing is to get in there and start moving weights.

With regards to your friend, if he's so smart, get him in the forum to back up his claims of the "processes that take place in the body."

That statement coupled with the advice he gave you tells me he's blowing smoke up your ass. The reason something like a full body routine done a few times per week is suggested IS because of the processes that take place in the body!

The "processes" that occur in the body after stress is applied via resistance training follows a wave pattern. There's an immediate decrease in the state, then an increase back to the original state, then a subsequent "supercompensation" where the body actually overcompensates for the stress.

Individiuals who prescribe once per week training (per body part) either don't know what the F they're talking about or they believe that everything follows the same wave-pattern.

Unfortunately, everything out there research-wise suggests that this isnt' the case. The mechanisms of the body affected by stress are numerous. You have neurological elements (both central and peripheral), glycogen replenishment, protein synthesis, physical damage to the muscle and so on. All of these recover on different time scales.

What you should be most concerned about is protein synthesis, which supercompensates and returns to baseline withing 48-72 hours after you train. If are only hitting that muscle once per week, that means the protein synthesis is actually detraining for 4-5 days each week.

I'd love to hear what "processes" your friend is talking about. :confused:

On another note, don't let n=1 be you sample population to draw conclusions from. Your friend had good results following a sub-optimal routine. Great.... so he's genetically gifted or *using*. If you aren't either of these, I'd suggest listening to the masses who had success rather than your n=1.

Next, as someone said above, nutrition is going to be your primary driver for postive weight fluctuations. Training merely supplies the stress to recover from.

Lastly, I'd never ever ever ever get training advice from a doctor, let alone a med student.
Click to expand...
No.... I understand your point. I get what you're saying and I'll take your advice... as you can tell I'm very much "naive" on this subject.... which is why if something sounds good, I'll use it. :rolleyes:

I'll go work out today and see how it works out.... so since DEF recommend using more reps than the Weight Training 101 thread (which says using 70% of what i can lift) maybe I should do 50%?

Thx Guys! :)
 
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