Bodybuilding: A few questions :)

4p · 12 Dec 2007 at 14:44

I'm not the broadest of fellas, but i did boxing for about a year and a half and really enjoyed it but the place was shutdown (rundown old warehouse)

Recently i have started to do weights, pressups, situps but mainly working on my shoulders to give me a broader look

Now i'm that type of guy who cant put on weight, i eat a shedload of crap through out the day. Full english in the morning, rice curry and chips for lunch, KFC on the way home and tea which is potatoes, meat, carrots etc...

I also have protein shake, which i take before an hour before workout session.

So um, after telling you about my life story i need to ask, what is the best way to put on weight/muscle?

Im 6ft and weigh 10 stone, i was 9 stone a month or two back though :confused:

I'm going to start going Total Fitness with a mate, so is there any routines or diets i should know about?

Cheers in advance

Heaven Can Wait · 12 Dec 2007 at 15:04

Best way to put on weight? make sure your overall calorie intake is less than what you burn, its the only way to put on weight

You should probably get a 5x5 routine for gaining muscle.
If your a fan of peanut butter, its easy to gain weight,

1 cup peanut butter
3.5 cups milk
1 cup vanilla ice cream
2 tbsp olive oil

Thats about 2.5k and 100 grams of protein (ton of fat too)

Sorry for the half-assed reply, should really be split into two sections, so in summary
1. get a routine that you like, dont make one up, and make sure you get a compound lift into every workout
2. you gotta eat big to be big, most people are fine in the gym, but its what you eat that matters.

Clipsey · 12 Dec 2007 at 15:24

Your eating junk basically and that's not really going to help put on good mass which you desire.
Try eating more lean meats, vegatables, rice, potato's, eggs etc, more calories than what you burn off as mentioned above.
No one is a 'hard gainer' as people like to throw around, it's just that they are not doing it properly.
Train hard and eat hard

4p · 12 Dec 2007 at 15:58

Well recently I've been eating a lot of rice and potatoes and as said above im now 10 stone

@ Heaven

Not really fond of peanut butter but the other three ill give a go

Oh and i really doubt i burn any of what i eat - Since i started my A levels ive been in a room for 4 days a week sitting on my arse doing work

SK07 · 12 Dec 2007 at 18:24

Cut out the crap food now or you will no doubt face the consequences. I know a few m8's who have lived on junk food since childhood, now whilst the rest of us gain fat they stay the same, but I've noticed that by the time we have reached 18+ the fat has started to pile on as if the years of abuse have caught up.

Really you need your diet sorted out, protein shakes are going to be a waste of time if your diet is absolute garbage. Buy weight gainer whey, has a lot more calories, don't think eating 20 pizzas a day will gain you weight, you want to gain mostly muscle based weight not fat. 5x5 routine is fine for strength and muscle but 3x10 is also fine imo. In my own personal experience I started off on a 3x10 routine, working with lower weights and gradually increasing them help me to develop the correct form, on a 5x5 your lifting very heavy and often if your not careful, wise or experienced you end up having sloppy form which you don't want. So make sure your form is perfect before you begin doing exercises on a 5x5.

4p · 12 Dec 2007 at 23:46

3x10
5x5?

Explain!

Cheers for the reply SK07

SK07 · 13 Dec 2007 at 00:42

Thorpy said:
3x10
5x5?

Explain!

Cheers for the reply SK07

Like sets and reps. Repetitions of each exercise per set, so the bicep curl for example curl 5 times of the movement and thats a set, rest for 40-60 secs or so and then do another set, get it?

5x5 is known as strength training but it's also a muscle builder, anything is really if you push yourself, generally though the more reps you do per set the lighter the weight will have to be as you have to be able to do x amount of reps through each set. Due to 5x5 having less reps per set it makes up for it by the sets, it's low because of the weight involved.

Again I started off on 3x10 as I could lift the weight but also get the form right, the more weight you lift the harder it is to stabalize yourself and keep your form perfect, you get the form right through time from upping the weight, you want the weight heavy enough for you to really be struggling but not too much that it's unsafe or liable to cause poor form.

4p · 13 Dec 2007 at 03:18

SK07 said:
Like sets and reps. Repetitions of each exercise per set, so the bicep curl for example curl 5 times of the movement and thats a set, rest for 40-60 secs or so and then do another set, get it?

5x5 is known as strength training but it's also a muscle builder, anything is really if you push yourself, generally though the more reps you do per set the lighter the weight will have to be as you have to be able to do x amount of reps through each set. Due to 5x5 having less reps per set it makes up for it by the sets, it's low because of the weight involved.

Again I started off on 3x10 as I could lift the weight but also get the form right, the more weight you lift the harder it is to stabalize yourself and keep your form perfect, you get the form right through time from upping the weight, you want the weight heavy enough for you to really be struggling but not too much that it's unsafe or liable to cause poor form.

Crystal clear mate

Cheers

Pulsar_GTI · 13 Dec 2007 at 12:37

Good advice above.

Eat well and healthy eg... chicken, eggs fruit & veggies and get down the gym and get your form right on the weights, then after a few weeks / 1 month get something like USN Muscle fuel and have one in the morning & one at night (one before the gym if possible) and work out hard (this is what i did and it worked / working for me, so it might work for you!)