strength training - is this okay?

[girlywonder]

This is my strength training regime and I want to know if it sounds okay... Am I doing too much, not enough, or just right? My goal is to gain some muscle because I'm tired of being so damn skinny. I feel small and frail, and I'd like to feel strong and powerful. This is what I do...

At least 30 minutes dedicated to one muscle group, 6 days a week. I do upper body on monday, lower body on tuesday, core on wednesday, then upper body again on thursday, lower on friday, core on saturday, and nothing on Sunday. For each muscle group, I do 3 sets of 15 reps, of 4-6 different exercises. I hope that makes sense...

Is this okay? Or should I do more? Should I workout for a longer period of time, but only 3-4 days a week? Is there a difference... will I see results any faster? I know I'm getting stronger because I can lift/do more than I could when I first started, but I haven't seen much of a different in my body, except for my stomach. If I want to "bulk up" my arms and legs, should I do more weight, less reps? Or less weight, more reps?

That is a lot of questions so far and I still have a few more, but I really need some help! I don't know anything about building muscle. what should I be eating? do I need a lot of protein to build muscle? I'm a vegetarian, and I try to eat protein.. like hummus, peanut butter on whole wheat, eggs.. stuff like that. but I don't know how much protein I'm actually getting from these. I have just one more question but it's kind of stupid... is it true that you have to gain fat before you can gain muscle? like I said, I'm pretty skinny. and I'd like to get bigger, but I don't exactly want to gain fat...

Okay that's all for now. Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me.

 

[evolution]

I think you'd do better to shoot for the upper/lower twice a week for four sessions. Mix in your "core" work with the lower body. I also think you'd benefit from lowering the reps a bit to the 10ish area.

No you don't have to gain fat before muscle. Check out to track your calories. Peanut butter, eggs, humus are all wonderful foods. You might add some pumpkin and sunflower seeds into your diet to make up for the lack of protein that most vegetarians get.

 

[cathy]

Hi girlywonder!

I would say you do 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps. That means you may have to increase the weight a little bit.

6 days a week of weight training sounds like too much and you will not manage keep it at that level throughout the year.

Normally working up to 30 to 60 minutes of daily aerobic exercise & three - four days of weight training per week is adequate.

Doing too much hard training will devastate your muscles and they will not get a chance to grow. In addition, if you do not recover for long enough, your muscles will not be ready for the next session, and muscle damage will occur.

After an intense workout, muscles are damaged to some extent. Damaged muscles need to be repaired to prevent damage that is more serious in subsequent workouts - and to ensure that the next workout can be carried out effectively. In addition, muscle fatigue must disappear; otherwise, the subsequent session will be carried out in the tired state, increasing the risk of injury.

It is during the recovery the process of new muscle creation kicks in. Ensure that your fluid, protein, and carbohydrate intake is high between workouts

The “repair and renew” process peaks at about 24 hours after a workout. Novice trainers might require a longer recovery process.

You also have to recuperate psychologically from the stressful sessions. Otherwise, if your concentration and performance is not optimum during subsequent efforts; your coordination and overall form will also deteriorate.

Hope that helps.

 

[mikementzer123]

training for stength and training for size are two totaly differnt things. you want to be strong or you want muscle?

people dont realise how little weight training the human body needs. If I was you I would just pick 5 compound exercises and work them 3 times a week, with 1 or sets. The exercses being something like Squats (Leg press), Deadlift, Shoulder Press, Dip (Bench Press), Pulldowns. This should get you started, and from this you will probably train differently to reach your specific goal. just do about 45mins of low resistance cardio 2-4 times a week and eat healthily.