Hi. I'm Chucko. I've been reading a lot of the threads and there seems to be a lot of experienced people here in the world of fitness. Please be gentle with me if you feel my questions seem stupid because I'm really not trying to stupid. That's why I joined this forum. I'm 20 years old, and will be 21 in August. I'm 5'8 and weight 150 pounds. I first got into working out last summer. Unfortunitely, I got lazy come September and stopped. I started back up in Feb and have been committed since. I don't go to the gym, but this is because I really cannot afford it. I have equippment and a bench at home and i work a lot with dumbbells...my buddy also has an Olympic weight bench with a lot more weight, and him and I work out together at his house when possible. I've actually seen some impressive gains, well, they're impressive to me anyway, especially with my arms.
Also, to give you an idea what my diet is like, I try to stay away from fast foods, although sometimes I give in
, also i try to stay away from ice cream, candy, pizza, etc. But basically, what i eat usually consists of...fruits such as apples, grapefruit, cherries, strawberries, bananas, veggies such as carrots, spinach, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, other foods such as rice, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, tuna, steak, chicken, kidney beans, Peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, eggs, bacon...now i dont pig out on this stuff, dont get me wrong...i have portioned meals, for example, for breakfast, ill have a bowl of oatmeal, a banana, glass of orange juice, 3 strawberries, maybe ill throw in a bowl of cereal, this healthy stuff that has a lot of fiber in it. the list was to give u an idea of what goes into my system. i also consume 2 protein skakes (nitro tech) daily. i still use them on my off days, but training days i take one afterwards and before i go to bed. i also take these vitamins called Mega Man from GNC.
I try to work out 4-5 days a week. I try to keep my workouts under an hour in length. I've gone to the internet for advice, and recently i've pruchased a couple muscle magazines (June 2006 issue of MuscleMag, and the lastest issue of Planet Muscle with that women in the red swimsuit on the cover) in my attempt to make sure what I'm doing is right, but all the information I've come across just confuses me even more. Today, Monday, i'm going to be working out my chest and biceps. For my chest, i plan to do flies, bench press, inclines. biceps im gonna do dumbbell curls, preacher curls, reverse curls. i can bench 160. I can do about 8 reps. I was going to do 4 sets of 8. is that ok? also, after i do one exercise, i can't do the next exercise as good as i would have if i started with it. for example, after i would bench at my friends house (i do dumbbell presses at my house if i cant get to his house), i would do inclines with the dumbbells. i can do a pair of 55's for an incline bench. but when im slightly worn from the previous exercise, i might have to use 40s. is that ok? am i still going to stimulate my chest using a lower weight than im used to, regardless of the fact that im used to? i hear u have to push urself and train hard to get big, so would forcing myself to use those 55s be training hard? what constitutes "training hard"? also, when im done my chest, i find that i can't use as much weight that im used to for my bicep exercises. and these sites have these workout routines for you, and i say to myself, "well gee, what if i can't complete all the sets and reps they're telling me bc im gonna be beat from the first set of exercises." and my musclemag said u shouldnt do the same exercises for more than 3 weeks. does that mean after 3 weeks of benching, inclines, and flies, i would have to do something else? are those "something elses" still going to do it for me with the absense of bench pressing? These are just some of the concerns I've had since last summer. and sometimes i get really discouraged when i think im not doing something right. and it seems the more information i come across, the more confused i get. Like i said, i made some gains since Feb, mostly in my arms bc to be honest with you, i think i may have concentrating on them the most (yes, i know thats not good, but im working to build my whole body, not just my arms...thats why im here asking these questions) i mean, i must have been doing something right. anyways. i apologize for such a long thread and if anyone can give me any advice, 2 cents, feedback, input or anything, i would really appreciate it. when i work out, i wanna know that what im doing is right. thanks for taking the time to read this. hope to hear from someone.
Also, to give you an idea what my diet is like, I try to stay away from fast foods, although sometimes I give in
, also i try to stay away from ice cream, candy, pizza, etc. But basically, what i eat usually consists of...fruits such as apples, grapefruit, cherries, strawberries, bananas, veggies such as carrots, spinach, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, other foods such as rice, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, tuna, steak, chicken, kidney beans, Peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, eggs, bacon...now i dont pig out on this stuff, dont get me wrong...i have portioned meals, for example, for breakfast, ill have a bowl of oatmeal, a banana, glass of orange juice, 3 strawberries, maybe ill throw in a bowl of cereal, this healthy stuff that has a lot of fiber in it. the list was to give u an idea of what goes into my system. i also consume 2 protein skakes (nitro tech) daily. i still use them on my off days, but training days i take one afterwards and before i go to bed. i also take these vitamins called Mega Man from GNC.I try to work out 4-5 days a week. I try to keep my workouts under an hour in length. I've gone to the internet for advice, and recently i've pruchased a couple muscle magazines (June 2006 issue of MuscleMag, and the lastest issue of Planet Muscle with that women in the red swimsuit on the cover) in my attempt to make sure what I'm doing is right, but all the information I've come across just confuses me even more. Today, Monday, i'm going to be working out my chest and biceps. For my chest, i plan to do flies, bench press, inclines. biceps im gonna do dumbbell curls, preacher curls, reverse curls. i can bench 160. I can do about 8 reps. I was going to do 4 sets of 8. is that ok? also, after i do one exercise, i can't do the next exercise as good as i would have if i started with it. for example, after i would bench at my friends house (i do dumbbell presses at my house if i cant get to his house), i would do inclines with the dumbbells. i can do a pair of 55's for an incline bench. but when im slightly worn from the previous exercise, i might have to use 40s. is that ok? am i still going to stimulate my chest using a lower weight than im used to, regardless of the fact that im used to? i hear u have to push urself and train hard to get big, so would forcing myself to use those 55s be training hard? what constitutes "training hard"? also, when im done my chest, i find that i can't use as much weight that im used to for my bicep exercises. and these sites have these workout routines for you, and i say to myself, "well gee, what if i can't complete all the sets and reps they're telling me bc im gonna be beat from the first set of exercises." and my musclemag said u shouldnt do the same exercises for more than 3 weeks. does that mean after 3 weeks of benching, inclines, and flies, i would have to do something else? are those "something elses" still going to do it for me with the absense of bench pressing? These are just some of the concerns I've had since last summer. and sometimes i get really discouraged when i think im not doing something right. and it seems the more information i come across, the more confused i get. Like i said, i made some gains since Feb, mostly in my arms bc to be honest with you, i think i may have concentrating on them the most (yes, i know thats not good, but im working to build my whole body, not just my arms...thats why im here asking these questions) i mean, i must have been doing something right. anyways. i apologize for such a long thread and if anyone can give me any advice, 2 cents, feedback, input or anything, i would really appreciate it. when i work out, i wanna know that what im doing is right. thanks for taking the time to read this. hope to hear from someone.