Best and safest training for a 17-year old boy?

Hi!

I've been training for almost 2 years now! I've trained all parts of the body.
But I have never really been following a special program because I haven't got the same amount of spare time to use in the gym.

Usually I do like this:

Chest and biceps together
Upper back and triceps together
Legs and shoulders together

Lower back and stomach is put in when I've got time and such.

Mostly I do around 4 exercises in each muscle group.
Each exercise is 3x10 lifts.
Sometimes I can't do 10 lifts in the last sets of the exercises.

Which way do think is the safest and best way to workout, for a 17-year old guy? I don't wanna hurt my body in this age just to get bigger. It should rather be safe and healthy.

I'm 180 cm tall, my weight is around 68 kilos.

The main question is:

Should I go for pretty many kilos and few lifts?
Or less kilos and more lifts?

My goal with all this training is ofcourse to get stronger but I'd also like to get some bigger muscles.
But to increase my strenght is very important for me too, not to get big only.

I know my thread is kinda messy, but I've just got so many questions.

- Thank you =)

Soren
 
Hey Soren, i think you should change your routine up if you been doing the samething for 2 years.

Try 4x6 on your lifts for awhile.

Or better yet post your entire program and we can tweak it much better.
 
Okay, I'll try to do that. I'm not home today, but I'll do it tomorrow.

I'm not English so I don't know the English name of all the exercises, but I'll try to explain, then you might know which one it is =)

- Søren
 
Okay now I'll try to post how many kilos I lift in each exercise.

CHEST
Bench press:
10*50 kg
10*50 kg
7-8*60 kg

Inclined bench press with hand weights
10*17,5 kg (each hand)
~8*20 kg (each hand)
6-7*22,5 kg (each hand)

The fitness machine where you press 2 handles (plates) together, using your chest:
10*35 kg
10*40 kg
around 8*45 kg

Again and inclined bench press in that "cage" where the bar's movement is controlled, not free:
10*40 kg
10*45 kg
10*50 kg

BICEPS

Curled bar, sitting on chair:
10*30 kg
10*34 kg
8*40 kg

Standing in the "cage", 1 handle in each hand, connected to the wire. Pulling from stretched arms -> to my head:
10*15 kg (each hand)
10*20 kg (each hand)
8*25 kg (each hand)

Then I often do some different exercises with hand weights:
Using 10 and 12,5 typically. In the easier versions I sometimes use 15 kg hand weights
Again 10, 10 and 8 lifts.

TRICEPS

Triceps press down in the "cage" using handle connected to wire:
10*40 kg
10*45 kg
10*45 kg

I do the push up where I just lift myself (Triceps dip):
3*10 times

Lifting 1 handweight using 2 arms. Sitting down, lifting weight over my head:
10*20 kg
10*22,5 kg
10*25 kg.

Using the curled bar, pushing the bar from my forehead when I'm lying down. Pushing from bended arms position at my forehead, to stretched arms just over my head:
10*24 kg
10*24 kg
10*30 kg

Upper back
Pull down fitness machine. I use the wide bar attached to the wire. Pulling the bar down to a position behind my neck. Sitting with my back 100% vertical:
10*40 kg
10*45 kg
8*50 kg

The same machine, with a small handle, falling back to a position where my back is like 45 degrees.
I pull the handle to the middle of my chest:
10*30 kg
10*35 kg
8*40 kg

Then I do two other exercises but they're too hard for me to explain.


When I train, I usualy do chest and biceps together, and upper back+triceps together.
I haven't really got questions about the other muscle groups. But if you think it's very important to connect that training with my training of chest, triceps, biceps and upper back, you are more than welcome to give me some tips.

When you give me some tips you're very welcome to use the "official" word for each exercise, I'll just look it up!


I've got a final quest. When and what should I eat when I'm training?
As it is now, I don't really eat anything special BEFORE I train.
After I train I eat some dark bread with some meat slices and maybe some fruit. Sometimes I eat oatmeal instead, with raisins and such.
If I train in the evening I just eat dinner when I come home, and that's what my mother has cooked, that varies alot.

This was a heck of a post. I hope you can find some time to read it and give me some advice. I haven't been progressing that much the last 6 months, so therefor I decided to find out if there is something wrong with the way I train.

Thanks alot =)
 
SorenW said:
Okay now I'll try to post how many kilos I lift in each exercise.

CHEST
Bench press:
10*50 kg
10*50 kg
7-8*60 kg

Inclined bench press with hand weights
10*17,5 kg (each hand)
~8*20 kg (each hand)
6-7*22,5 kg (each hand)

The fitness machine where you press 2 handles (plates) together, using your chest:
10*35 kg
10*40 kg
around 8*45 kg

Again and inclined bench press in that "cage" where the bar's movement is controlled, not free:
10*40 kg
10*45 kg
10*50 kg

BICEPS

Curled bar, sitting on chair:
10*30 kg
10*34 kg
8*40 kg

Standing in the "cage", 1 handle in each hand, connected to the wire. Pulling from stretched arms -> to my head:
10*15 kg (each hand)
10*20 kg (each hand)
8*25 kg (each hand)

Then I often do some different exercises with hand weights:
Using 10 and 12,5 typically. In the easier versions I sometimes use 15 kg hand weights
Again 10, 10 and 8 lifts.

TRICEPS

Triceps press down in the "cage" using handle connected to wire:
10*40 kg
10*45 kg
10*45 kg

I do the push up where I just lift myself (Triceps dip):
3*10 times

Lifting 1 handweight using 2 arms. Sitting down, lifting weight over my head:
10*20 kg
10*22,5 kg
10*25 kg.

Using the curled bar, pushing the bar from my forehead when I'm lying down. Pushing from bended arms position at my forehead, to stretched arms just over my head:
10*24 kg
10*24 kg
10*30 kg

Upper back
Pull down fitness machine. I use the wide bar attached to the wire. Pulling the bar down to a position behind my neck. Sitting with my back 100% vertical:
10*40 kg
10*45 kg
8*50 kg

The same machine, with a small handle, falling back to a position where my back is like 45 degrees.
I pull the handle to the middle of my chest:
10*30 kg
10*35 kg
8*40 kg

Then I do two other exercises but they're too hard for me to explain.


When I train, I usualy do chest and biceps together, and upper back+triceps together.
I haven't really got questions about the other muscle groups. But if you think it's very important to connect that training with my training of chest, triceps, biceps and upper back, you are more than welcome to give me some tips.

When you give me some tips you're very welcome to use the "official" word for each exercise, I'll just look it up!


I've got a final quest. When and what should I eat when I'm training?
As it is now, I don't really eat anything special BEFORE I train.
After I train I eat some dark bread with some meat slices and maybe some fruit. Sometimes I eat oatmeal instead, with raisins and such.
If I train in the evening I just eat dinner when I come home, and that's what my mother has cooked, that varies alot.

This was a heck of a post. I hope you can find some time to read it and give me some advice. I haven't been progressing that much the last 6 months, so therefor I decided to find out if there is something wrong with the way I train.

Thanks alot =)

Your routine is pretty poor, try an out of the box program. Since your not totally new to training i will sugeest this routine.

I've done it - its a soild routine.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=534922

Has with nutrition - eat some fruits and/or grains along with protein after you train. Pre-workout, i wouldn't get too concerned about that right now.

Read and research good dietary habits.
 
Thank you very much!

I just read the article. What does he mean with A, A1 and such, and B, B1, B2 and such? Is there a break between A or B ? Or did he just split the exercises up in groups?

For me, it looks like he's only using some few exercises. For example on Day 1 you do 1 exercise for biceps, 1 for triceps, 1 for the upper back and such.

Normally I do, and I see many people do like 3-4 exercises for each muscle group.

I would complete the training for Day 1 on like 1 hour max? It's only 6 exercises in total.

And what if I consider not to use creatine, protein powder and all that stuff? Would this program just be "less good", or would it even be a BAD program that I shouldn't decide to use?
 
Don't worry about the supplements but i always have protein powder around.

You'll get plenty of stimulation don't worry about not enough excercises. Fullbody training was very popular in the golden era of bodybuilding, pre-steroids.

Waterbury is prescribing excercise parings in that article:
eg.
A1, rest 60s, A2, rest 60s, A1, rest 60s, A2 etc until you completed the sets and then move onto the B pairings.

Good luck :)
 
Normally I do, and I see many people do like 3-4 exercises for each muscle group.

You have to remeber your going to hit all the muscle groups 3x per week has opposed to once so the volume is lower per workout session.
 
newf said:
Waterbury is prescribing excercise parings in that article:
eg.
A1, rest 60s, A2, rest 60s, A1, rest 60s, A2 etc until you completed the sets and then move onto the B pairings.

Oh, so he don't want me to do whole A first, then A1, and A2 ?

He wants me to do 6 reps in A1, rest 60 secs, do 6 reps in A2, rest 60 secs. Repeat that until I've done 4*6 reps ?

What if there's both A, A1, and A2 .. he wants me to do 3 exercises at once? Then I'm doing 6 reps, rushing to one end of the gym, doing 6 reps there, rushing to another end, doing 6 reps there, and back :S .. Then I gotta train when I've got the gym all by myself :S
 
i've never seen him do a, a1, a2...he would just do a1, a2, a3 for 3 exercises...you've got 60secs rest but you can change exercises if you really have to
 
But my point is:

Should I finish ONE exercise first? Or should I do 1 set in each A-exercise, and repeat that 3 times?
 
Alternate back and forth.

eg.

4x6 with 60s Rest Intervals (RI)

A1: Back squat
A2: Leg curl

Perform 6 reps of the squat and rest 60s, perform 6 reps of the leg curls and rest 60s - repeat. Until you done the 4 sets for each excercise or 4 circuits whatever way you want to think of it.
 
DAY 1

Barbell Back Squats
Sets: 10
Reps: 3
Rest: 70 seconds

A1 Dips

A2 Bent-Over Barbell or Dumbbell Rows
Sets: 4
Reps: 6
Rest: 60 seconds (between exercise pairings)

------------------------------------------------------------

See? There's both 10*3 and 4*6 exercises
 
Back squats are straight sets. Meaning you do all of the squat sets before you move onto the pairings - A1/A2, B1/B2 etc are pairings where you would alternate back and forth like i described above.
 
Get at it dude, i'm sure if you train hard you'll get some very nice results. :)
 
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