Tips for getting some muscle!

[Turtles]

I'm 16, and looking to bulk up a little bit - build up some muscle. I don't really have the time to go to the gym everyday, but I've got a set of dumbells. Would someone be able to give me advice on the sort of exercises/lifts I could do to work on my forearms, biceps, chest, etc.

I read in the sticky that you should work your legs as well. That's cool, but what sort of exercises would I do? I'm not familiar with all the different lifts/exercises so are there any guides out there that would explain how to carry out the lifts/exercises correctly?

I know diet is important with building muscle as well, but I feel I've got a pretty good diet. I'll gladly take advice on what sort of things I should be eating to help this process along.

I've tried working out before but I never managed to get into a regular routine. It only ever lasted a couple of weeks but I feel with some more information I'll be able to commit to working out 3 or so times a week.

One last question. Is it not a good idea to exercise/lift weights when you get up in the morning? I was told that your body hasn't fully woken up yet, but is there any truth in this?


Any help appreciated

 

[psd99]

I read in the sticky that you should work your legs as well. That's cool, but what sort of exercises would I do? I'm not familiar with all the different lifts/exercises so are there any guides out there that would explain how to carry out the lifts/exercises correctly?



One last question. Is it not a good idea to exercise/lift weights when you get up in the morning? I was told that your body hasn't fully woken up yet, but is there any truth in this?


Any help appreciated

The last bit is absolute bu llocks!!! Don't listen to people that tell you this.

At the end of the day one can only advise you with your routine/diet but it is up to you to try it out. Sometimes something might work for someone very well but when you try it and your body might not adapt to it.

Okay wth a set of dumbells you are a little limited to be honest.

Ideally you would want an Olympic barbell with some weight plates.

But with dumbells try these

Dumbell military press
Dumbell chest press
Dumbell bent over row.
Dumbell lunges
Dumbell curl
Dumbell extensions.

If you need to look at any of these exercises join up at precisionnutrition.com
and check out their videos. I reckon they are by far the best exercise videos on the internet.


Good luck dude.

 

[moogie]

assuming you will be working out at home
you could do dips between chairs, weighted with a DB when you progress
anything you could use to do chins/pull ups?
bodyweight squtas, single leg as you progress, add some weight etc

would guess that the DB wont be challenging on their own for long? what weight are they

 

[GBB]

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html - fantastic site with details of every exercise you could think of.

http://www.youtube.com/user/scooby1961 - Some good instructional videos for home workouts with limited equipment.

 

[WantoN]

Actually, the statement about weight training in the morning isn't entirely wrong.

Sleeping depletes your glycogen levels, and as such you've less available for training. Now for weight loss this is great, for lifting, it is not.

Weight lifting is an anaerobic process, as such, the use of glycogen is very innefficient when compared with say, jogging. As such you will deplete your glycogen levels quickly, you will tire, and thus not have as much energy to put into your routine. And if you aren't lifting with your heart and soul, hypertrophy won't come so easy.

As you're starting out, there's plenty of bodyweight excersises you can couple with your DBs to get good results. You are not limited by dumbells, at least initially. However the lack of a bench makes life harder.

To be honest if you don't have the time to spend one hour three to four times a week in the gym, lifting may not be for you.

As for diet, you probably do have a healthy one. But when you begin weightlifting your requirements change. You'll be looking to increase calorie intake, as well as a large increase in protein.

Ant

 

[MTA99]

I'm 16, and looking to bulk up a little bit - build up some muscle. I don't really have the time to go to the gym everyday, but I've got a set of dumbells. Would someone be able to give me advice on the sort of exercises/lifts I could do to work on my forearms, biceps, chest, etc.

Building muscle isn't easy and it won't happen overnight (i'll let Ultra Extreme give you the full motivational speech) so you'll need to find some time to dedicate to training.

You're awesome at TF2 and clearly spend hours practising (and owning ) but I don't think your game would suffer from spending 3 x 90mins in a gym every week. Do you? Heck having a set of gym goals might stop you trying to beat your PB for facestabs

I understand its your decision how you chose to spend your free time but you've got guys on here who would love the opportunity to spend just half the time you spend playing every evening with their families.

 

[Turtles]

Cheers for the replies guys.

I'll take on board all that you've said

You're awesome at TF2 and clearly spend hours practising (and owning ) but I don't think your game would suffer from spending 3 x 90mins in a gym every week. Do you? Heck having a set of gym goals might stop you trying to beat your PB for facestabs

I understand its your decision how you chose to spend your free time but you've got guys on here who would love the opportunity to spend just half the time you spend playing every evening with their families.

I guess I didn't really mean I didn't have the time. I definitely have the time to get to the gym, it's just that knowing zero about weightlifting and not really having someone that can commit to going with me a few times a week puts me off a little. Couple that with gym membership fees I'd rather see how I get on by myself first before thinking about joining.

 

[WantoN]

Cheers for the replies guys.

I'll take on board all that you've said



I guess I didn't really mean I didn't have the time. I definitely have the time to get to the gym, it's just that knowing zero about weightlifting and not really having someone that can commit to going with me a few times a week puts me off a little. Couple that with gym membership fees I'd rather see how I get on by myself first before thinking about joining.

Unfortunately 'seeing how you get on yourself' and dedicating yourself to a lifting regime is the difference between getting gains that motivating you, and loosing impetus very quickly.

The bottom line is, if you don't spend the time, you won't get very far That's not to say you have to 'go hardcore' immediately and go from knowing nothing to being a veritable weight lifting god. It does mean that you have to take it a little seriously rather than chucking a couple of dumbells round your bedroom

Ant

 

[Freefaller]

For putting on mass you need to do some big compound exercises. Do them hard, and do them well, as well as eating well. Don't worry about isolation exercises to begin with, get a good platform to work off first - what's the point in polishing, when the surface you're trying to polish isn't ready?

 

[G|mp]

Oi oi Will

Email me the picture from Cyprus !

 

[Turtles]

Unfortunately 'seeing how you get on yourself' and dedicating yourself to a lifting regime is the difference between getting gains that motivating you, and loosing impetus very quickly.

The bottom line is, if you don't spend the time, you won't get very far That's not to say you have to 'go hardcore' immediately and go from knowing nothing to being a veritable weight lifting god. It does mean that you have to take it a little seriously rather than chucking a couple of dumbells round your bedroom

Ant

I don't really see the problem in doing some dumbell exercises to gain some confidence and experience before committing to a gym workout 3/4 times a week.

For putting on mass you need to do some big compound exercises. Do them hard, and do them well, as well as eating well. Don't worry about isolation exercises to begin with, get a good platform to work off first - what's the point in polishing, when the surface you're trying to polish isn't ready?

Compound exercises? Isolation exercises?

Would you mind telling me what you mean?

 

[Freefaller]

Oi oi Will

Email me the picture from Cyprus !

Will do!

 

[tom_e]

Compound exercises? Isolation exercises?

Would you mind telling me what you mean?

short videos of exercises can be found here http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
The big compounds are things like bench press, dead lift and squats. Which work the whole body or at least a large amount of muscle groups.
Isolation exercises are things like bicep curls, which work one specific muscle

 

[Freefaller]

I don't really see the problem in doing some dumbell exercises to gain some confidence and experience before committing to a gym workout 3/4 times a week.



Compound exercises? Isolation exercises?

Would you mind telling me what you mean?

Isolation: Working on one particular muscle group i.e. bicep only, tricep only, lats only, calf only etc....

Compound: Working numerous muscle groups i.e. squats: quads, hams, core, lower back etc.... Chest press: chest, shoulders, arms, core. Deadlift: shoulders, upper and lower back, legs, core. Powercleans: shoulders, arms, upper and lower back, legs, core. Bent over rows: shoulders, lats, arms core. etc...

 

[Turtles]

Perfect

 

[WantoN]

I don't really see the problem in doing some dumbell exercises to gain some confidence and experience before committing to a gym workout 3/4 times a week.

Ok. What I'm trying to say is this.

FF has given you the superb advice of using compound lifts. The equipment you currently have at home may not be the most suitable.

I agree it is perhaps a bit unfair of me to suddenly demand that you enter the gym and follow a four day split. What I do suggest is you pop down there once or twice a week, get a feel for the PTs who know what they're talking about, and get some advice and spotting on your lifts.

Training at home is a great way to build confidence. But not if you're doing bicep curls and shoulder presses 6 days a week So follow the sticky and the advice of the more knowledgeable fellas here, and as long as you're lifting right I'm sure it doesn't matter if you start off at home.

Ant