A few tips

Well I'm currently 15 years old, and doing a lot of working out. Many people my age are clueless about what to do. This is just some basic tips for teens. Since most have NO clue what to do while working out.

Sorry if I get some of the terms wrong, I'm not good at remembering names of things.

I have done a LOT of research on this topic. I have come up with a few things, that I have read, and a few things I have proven wrong:

OK. First off, I will start off with weights. WEIGHTS are BETTER than machines!!! And cheaper! Don't spend all your money on machines, I have some, but never use them anymore - they did nothing. Buy some bars, like a curved bar, straight bar for bench presses, and can be used for other things, dungbells. Of course - Weights to go with them.

OK, thats done. Now, you will need to know, how much weight to be lifting, and how many reps. I was always told by people - Lower reps gain mass, higher tone your muscles. Lower do not gain more mass! It gains strength, but takes much longer for gaining mass! Trust me - I gained nearly nothing while doing 4-6 reps, at high weight. You should be lifting something that you can light 8-12 times. That will gain mass.

Now for food:

Eating right is a must! But at this age, what should you consider 'eating right'? You will need lots of protein, and all other vitamines, I suggest a good mutivitamin, go to your local GNC to buy some good suppliments. Since I am still growing, I need a LOTTT of food. I eat a fatty, high protein diet. I've heard from a personal trainer - while gaining mass, you should be consuming 2X your weight in protain (in grams). Correct me if I'm wrong.
Your body will be burning off a lot of fat, whether it's for working out, or growing, you will burn a lot either way.

Now, onto sleep. Resting right is a must, you should be getting about 8 hours of sleep a night. Don't get too much sleep though, there is such a thing as over sleeping, which is not good for you.

Please quote any mistakes you see, I'll fix them.
 
Yeah, big one, GNC is way overpriced, online is way cheaper.
2x is a little high, I think 1.5 would be better.
 
AJP said:
Yeah, big one, GNC is way overpriced, online is way cheaper.
2x is a little high, I think 1.5 would be better.
1.5 is the recommended size for an adult. I have talked to a training, and my rugby coach at school. They both have recommended 2x, due to my muscle are growing, even by me sitting around, since I'm still growing.

Anyways, any extra protein that isn't used with your muscle, will turn to fat, which you can easily burn off, if you are adding a little bit of cardio into your workouts.

You're right, GNC is overpriced, the reason I recommended it, is because almost everyone has one in their city, and not many people feel safe buying things online. If you have any better stores in your town - hell, go to them.
 
8-12 reps for size gains. anything beyond 12 and you're just training the muscle for endurance...not bad for swimmers, marathon runners...not great for much else. and 15 reps does NOT tone you. building larger muscles and then shedding body fat is how you tone. Tone describes muscular definition showing through the skin/body fat.

the shape of your muscles is already pre-determined by genetics. all you can do is increase or decrease their size.
 
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