How much is too much?

[Ripper]

Having been a pay-as-you-go member of the gym for the last 4 years I decided the other day to go full whack and pay for the top membership so I can come and go as I please.

Problem is i've recently come out of a long term relationship and I get bored extremely quickly at home, leading me to want to go to the gym constantly. I went this morning and had a pretty intense session on my arms and abs and now I really want to go again tonight but I don't want to over-do it. Bad idea do you think? There's also the option of going swimming instead which wouldn't do me much harm would it? Would it harm the work I did this morning in any way?

Basically I want to know how much is too much? This week i'll most likely go everyday except Wednesday as I'm playing squash. I'm noticing the changes to my body quite rapidly after two months of going regularly (around 3 times a week). In the past i'd focused more on squash and maybe went to the gym once a week, due to this and the fact I don't eat much food my weight never budges and i've been around 9st 10lb for a while. My goals aren't to get big so to speak, more to be athletic and defined, I suppose you could say like a footballers physique or something like that. I think I already have a reasonably good physique but it could be a lot better, i'm probably a bit too skinny at the moment. Any tips? I've read the stickys but they seem to be focused towards people wanting to get "big" and eating crap loads.

I already use whey protein after every workout and sometimes at other times if I don't feel i've had enough protein during the day.

 

[atpbx]

9st 10lbs?

What are you 4ft tall or something?

Go and play some football for or take up a martial art, pumping iron and running machines wont give you what you want, you need the different loads and demands on your body and mind to break out of this, and get a decent body.

 

[Ripper]

5ft10 i think

I do a lot of exercise, squash 3 times a week + cardio at the gym. Also go running every now and then. This plus the fact I don't eat much means I don't seem to change weight.

 

[atpbx]

5ft10 i think

I do a lot of exercise, squash 3 times a week + cardio at the gym. Also go running every now and then. This plus the fact I don't eat much means I don't seem to change weight.

Mabye you need to accept you are what you are?

I spent years dieting, eating the right foods, playing football, doing martial arts, working like a dog, press ups, sit ups, running, hours on a heavy bag, hours with speed mitts and sparring......

All its got me is a 34" waist, 44" chest, 15" biceps, 24" thighs, knackered knees, shot back, bad ankles...........
And its changed my actual quality of life by a factor of nil.
I could type for ages about epic lifting feats, footballing skills, fights, how fast i could run a 100 meters blah blah.

It just doesnt matter.

 

[Ultra_Extreme]

funny how so many people get it so wrong. Its all in the diet kids, not the gym time.

 

[nicktay2605]

Blimey that is light, I'm 5ft11 and weigh about 11 stone and want to put on a bit of weight, you must be very slight. I can relate to you though mate, have had to decide between giving up some of the sport and focusing on weights and bulking, or just keep playing sports, go to gym as well and accept the fact that it might take me a lot longer than focused gym rats to put any weight on.

 

[TripleT]

Heh, I'm 5ft 9" and weigh 11st 8lbs! And I'm by no means fat! I wouldn't like to go below 11st 3lbs or so personally, prefer to be chunky than thin. My problem is my life-style, I'm not going to change what I eat too much and I drink a lot. I'm happy so not too concerned.

 

[GBB]

Rest is essential to muscle development. When you lift weights you make microscopic tears in your muscles, it's the process of the body repairing those tears that makes your muscles grow. If your body isn't given the time to repair your muscles won't grow.

What's more, when you have a hard session at the gym you put strain on your central nervous system. If you don't give yourself adequate rest it can cause problems with your CNS and immune system and lead to all sorts of long-term health problems.

I think the standard advice is strength training no more than 4 times a week, with 48 hours rest between hitting the same muscle group twice and cardio no more than 5 times a week.


I'm about 5' 10" and used to be about the same weight as you. I started weight training about 18 moths ago, and put on a stone in the first 4 months. I'm now just under 12 stone, not big, just more muscular and certainly no longer skinny

Anyway, if your metabolism is anything like mine, and by the sounds of it, it is. You are going to have to eat 'crap loads', even just to get a bit more athletic. Your body needs to be in calorific excess or it will not build muscle, it doesn't matter how much protein you're getting if your body ends up just using it as an energy source because you've not eaten enough fats or carbs to provide all the fuel it needs.

So, go with the diets in the stickys, eat lots (of the right things), don't over-do the gym and you'll get the body you want quicker than you think.

 

[Ripper]

Cheers. I really don't have the appetite to eat 5/6 meals a day though thats the problem. Guess i'll have to suck it up

 

[semi-pro waster]

I don't think it is about simply eating 5 or 6 huge meals a day, the idea is to split up your nutritional intake over a much longer period than only having say 3 meals would allow i.e. it is a fairly similar amount of food but better spacing means that your body can utilise the food more efficiently. That said you probably will need to eat more and more often if you want to put on mass as under 10 stone as 5'10" is pretty light.

 

[RaohNS]

Cheers. I really don't have the appetite to eat 5/6 meals a day though thats the problem. Guess i'll have to suck it up

Dont eat 5/6 meals a day... a lot of weightlifting and bulking isn't so much about eating shed loads there is a big factor on eating smart.

I'll give an example i gym it 4/5 days a week, am 6' and 16st yesterday (rest day) i ate:

Biscuits followed by cereal and fruit
Bowl of pasta (mmmm)
potato's and a pork chop with stuffing and veg (heavy portions)
Snack of peanuts and rice
Kippers with pint a milk



That allows me to get enough in me to fuel me.

Add something similar and also a can of nourishment milk which i have whilst doing the workout. and sometimes something else just after.

Costs a fortune in food though lol.

That

 

[dun]

Dont eat 5/6 meals a day... a lot of weightlifting and bulking isn't so much about eating shed loads there is a big factor on eating smart.

I'll give an example i gym it 4/5 days a week, am 6' and 16st yesterday (rest day) i ate:

Biscuits followed by cereal and fruit
Bowl of pasta (mmmm)
potato's and a pork chop with stuffing and veg (heavy portions)
Snack of peanuts and rice
Kippers with pint a milk



That allows me to get enough in me to fuel me.

Add something similar and also a can of nourishment milk which i have whilst doing the workout. and sometimes something else just after.

Costs a fortune in food though lol.

That

what sort of bodyfat we talking mate?

Anyway OP: you need to eat more, slowly at first but believe it or not the more you eat the hungrier you generally become. Going to the gym twice a day and doing cardio while hardly eating is not going to do you any favours unless you are going for the stick man look.

 

[RaohNS]

what sort of bodyfat we talking mate?

very little 13%, don't worry lol its all solid

 

[boheme]

Before term started i was the same, going to gym just to do something and get out of the house when i had no possible plans with friends etc.
I then started to find the gym reaaally boring after that because i was going so much, so i took up a womans football class (nice.), and a few others.
I think for like all physical, mental and emotional aspects, why don't you join a few sports classes? They're really so much more fulfilling and satisfying than the gym alone!

oh yeah

and eat more.

 

[WantoN]

Mabye you need to accept you are what you are?

I spent years dieting, eating the right foods, playing football, doing martial arts, working like a dog, press ups, sit ups, running, hours on a heavy bag, hours with speed mitts and sparring......

All its got me is a 34" waist, 44" chest, 15" biceps, 24" thighs, knackered knees, shot back, bad ankles...........
And its changed my actual quality of life by a factor of nil.
I could type for ages about epic lifting feats, footballing skills, fights, how fast i could run a 100 meters blah blah.

It just doesnt matter.

Whilst you're entitled to your opinion, it seems rather flawed.

"Go and play some football for or take up a martial art, pumping iron and running machines wont give you what you want, you need the different loads and demands on your body and mind to break out of this, and get a decent body"

You are wrong. Big lifting, big eating, and big training are EXACTLY what will give him better body. A mass of external, aerobic stimulus may make him faster, stronger, fitter and healthier, but it won't stack on mass. You seem to be speaking from a relatively narrow frame of reference with little actual knowledge as to the mechanics of the human body None of the work you've done is mass gaining, and ALL of it is high impact and hard on the joints. What did you expect your condition to be after, if your post is on the money, years of high impact, high intensity excersise?

I'd love to hear about your 'epic lifts' and see the comparison with the bigger body builders of this forum


As to the OP. GBBs advice is very accurate. The work in the gym isn't when your muscle is growing. It's when you're resting and sleeping. With this in mind, if your body doesn't get time to recoup, how will it grow

You will see your fastest gains in the first couple of months, after this things will slow. This is the natural way of adaptation, and quality lifting, quality eating and diversity in your training is what will keep the gains coming, not constantly hitting the gym

Get yourself a decent split routine, a decent diet plan that you can stick to, and get plenty of rest. The sticky is an excellent place to start.

There's another thread poking about titled something like 'Is it possible for me to gain weight?' Which i think might be good for you to take a look at.

Good luck!
Ant

 

[NokkonWud]

Cheers. I really don't have the appetite to eat 5/6 meals a day though thats the problem. Guess i'll have to suck it up

As a friend, I'll have yours!

 

[WantoN]

As for the eating thing, don't worry. It won't be longer before you're STARVING if you miss a meal

Ant

 

[atpbx]

I'd love to hear about your 'epic lifts' and see the comparison with the bigger body builders of this forum

I dont do body building, never have done, I'm of the opinion that it isnt something to worry overmuch about and not the be all and end all, thats the jist of where i was coming from, you are what you are, if it gets to the point where you have to drastically change what you are or what you do, then it isnt worth it.

I've also been called about weight lifting before on here, on the basis that i said it doesnt improve your lot in life a great deal.

So I'm someone who doesnt weight lift, BUT i can pick up 150kg crate to chest height, do 50 behind my head reps with a lamp post, have in the past done 90 sit ups in a minute and not far off the same amount of push ups as well.
And guess what, i dont care if there are people who are stronger, faster, butter built, have more hair, who are better fighters, better footballers whatever.
At the end of the day, NONE of it is something anybody should be worrying about or losing sleep over.
And i dont, and never have done.

I've never tried picking up a nicely balanced set of weights in the comfort of the gym, I may have to try it, I might qualify as being "strong" then.

 

[Ultra_Extreme]

You cant pick up a 150kilo crate to chest height if you could you would be competing in worlds strongest man, the barrels those guys carry cap out at 120 kilo and would be nowhere near as hard to handle as a standard crate weighted to 150. And since as you say youve "never lifted a weight" then the crate must be filled with everyday items as opposed to dense metal weight. Thus it would be MASSIVE. For reference a washing machine will weigh in the region of 40kilos. Your talking about more than 3 times that and to chest height meaning you can essentially curl and hold it with bent arms, so rather than a 150kilo 'natural' (as in not barbell) deadlift, which i could believe if you were a beast of a man, your talking about clean-to-chest with a huge irregular weight. I dont buy that for a second, not if you have never seen a weight bench, i doubt id believe it if you were marius pudzianowski tbh, well actually...

 

[Ripper]

Ok well I'm never going to be able to prepare the proper healthy food I need to eat regularly, I just don't have the time or the taste for most of it. But I am trying to eat more food in general, today for example:

8.30am - Bowl of Cheerio's
11.15am - Bacon bap
1.15pm - Cheese and ham sandwhich on brown bread, bag of crisps
5pm - Protein shake
7pm - Protein shake straight after workout
8.30 - Two small fillet steak sandwhiches on white crusty bread

Obviously its not the right food but I guess its better than 3 meals a day? I'll be having a shake in the morning from now on along with my cereal.