Well, I'm compelled to add my two cents. After my HT I started working out big time. It has changed my life.



haha.jpg (32 Kb, 414 downloads) haha

MAN IM DAMN JELOUSE OF ALL YOU YOUNGENS, i will be 47 yrs old this saturday and i am 5'11 and 216 lbs, but shit, no muscule, give me some pointers what can a guy like me do to get a cool body, damn,, i remember when rocky got all ripped and i told my wife ok im motivated im going to look like rocky when im his age, well here i am close to his age now, and my wife says i finally got the rocky body i wanted, old and saggy,, oh man, hell he still looked pretty good in the movie rocky balboa, please guys what can i do, im mexican and its hard not to eat all that greasy food, LOL,, well actually i started watching what i eat and started walking 2 miles, should i jog instead? HELP,, LOL,

rafael,

It looks like what you're really after is getting leaner, am I right? If that's the case then what you're looking for is cardio workouts.

The best for this, IMO, is swimming. Swim a mile/day if you're close to a swimming pool. It's not as bad as it sounds, I used to do it on my lunch break every day for a year or so but then changed jobs and am no longer near a pool Of course, you'd want to start with a shorted distance - say, 600 yards - and work up to longer ones.

If you don't like to swim or don't have facilities within easy reach, run in the gym. Walking is a good start for a week or so if you're out of shape, but you'd really want to get moving quickly ASAP.

A good starter workout for you would be to run for 15-20 minutes, then work on the machines for another 20 minutes. In between, you're going to want to fit in 30-45 crunches - do them in sets of 10-15, they'll become easy soon enough. Be sure to get a personal trainer and tell him/her you need them to teach you about proper technique and to put together a good exercise program, though, since most of these folks think they need to get you motivated and will tire you out just as soon as teach you. You can tire yourself out, from them you need the knowhow so you don't hurt yourself

Do the cardio/weights for about a month or two. Start with high repetitions/low weights and increase them after about a few weeks. Also try to vary the exercise every 4 to 6 weeks as your muscles will "get used" to the same motions and your gains will plateau.

Once you're at the 2 month mark, congratulate yourself. You've just managed to do what 80% of people who work out never manage, which is sticking with it! By now you should begin to enjoy it and you won't *want* to stop Now get yourself a trainer session again and ask him/her to take you through some free weight routines, including barbells, bench, etc. And don't stop running!

Don't get discouraged - I see guys in their 50s and 60s regularly working out at my gym and looking the way I *wish* I could. It's there, you just need to push for it!

thanks my friend i have printed out your advise, and am looking forward to it, i do not have the swimming thing close by, well i have the ocean but after jaws back in the 70s you won't get me in the water lol,, anyway thanks very much for the info, and will start right away, and hope i can make it the 2 months

That advice is bullshit.

To get leaner you want to do high intensity interval sprint workouts on a track, a bike, or a treadmill. Take 15 minutes and every 30 seconds go all out, then jog or walk for 30 seconds and repeat for 15 minutes.

As for lifting, you want to hit heavy weights and the major compound exercises. Squats, deadlifts, bench press, military press, pull ups, dips, rows, lunges, etc.

5 sets of 5 reps would be a good starting place for you.

Do 3 total body workouts per week and one day of cross training, and you'll lean out in a few months.

Example:

Day 1
Flat Dumbbell Bench: 5x5
Chest-Supported Rows: 5x5
Squats: 5x5
Weighted Pull Ups: 5x5
Weighted Dips: 5x5

Day 2
Deadlifts: 5x5
Military Press: 5x5
T-bar Rows to Neck: 5x5
Lunges: 3x12 steps
Some bicep/tricep variations

Day 3
Snatches: 5x5
Clean and Press: 5x5
Incline Bench: 5x5
Step Ups while holding weight above your head: 3x12
Shrugs: 3x12
Leg Curls/Leg Extentions: 3x12
Reverse Hyper Extensions: 3x10

Day 4
Do circuits of pull ups, push ups, run an 800, snatches, crunches. Repeat til you puke.

Eat a gram to 1.5 grams of protein PER BODY POUND. Limit carb intake to immediately before and after your workouts. High glycemic immediately after you workout, then have a normal meal an hour after that.


Enjoy your new body.

Nice workout dhuge, I think I will copy & print that! except the till you puke part.

quote:

Originally posted by folica:
Nice workout dhuge, I think I will copy & print that! except the till you puke part.

I'm glad you like it. The key is to switch up your rep/set ranges over time.

If you do 5x5 for 4-8 weeks, change over to 3 sets of 8-10 after that, then go to 12-15 for a while. Usually, I would limit higher rep ranges (8+) to 2 weeks and then go back to lower rep ranges. You would actually be really amazed at what 10 sets of 3 will do for your muscle growth.

The important thing here? Total reps performed at an intense weight. 10x3 gives you 30 reps at a significantly heavy weight. 5x5 gives 25, 4 sets of 8 yields 32. Most people won't perform more than 24-50 reps per body part. Once you go beyond that, you start to enter the realm of muscular endurance, which isn't good for building size or strength.

Just an FYI. Keep your reps in the 24-50 range, using heavy weight, and you'll be gold.

I find my favorite set/rep ranges to be: 5x5, 10x3, and 4x8. Sometimes I'll employ a 2x25 to tax the smaller muscles that seem to respond to high reps better (biceps/calves).

Another good scheme is tempo and pyramid & reverse sets. Basically, all of your reps come in succession, and in ascending then descending weight.

For pyramids & reverse: perform 5 reps with a given weight, increase by 10% and do 5 more reps, then increase the weight again and do 5 more reps immediately, then increase once more and do 5 more reps, then remove weight for 5 more reps, then remove weight again and perform a final 5 reps. This is hugely taxing but highly stimulating.

Tempo is the utilization of the rate at which you lift the weight. I like to do stuff like this on bicep work. Say you're curling some weight and you perform your first 2-3 reps at a fast speed. You contract the weight up as quickly as possible, then go back down and up as fast as possible. After 3 reps like that, perform 2 reps where you count that it takes 4 seconds to bring the weight up, pause at the top, then lower the weight over the period of 6 seconds. Doing stuff like this will vastly increase the effectiveness of your contractions.

The body swing and the inherent "bounce" that comes with rhythmic lifting is not necessarily good. Counteract it with tempo changes and reap the benefits.

That's all for today!

It's like having a personal trainer!
Thanks Dhuge!

quote:

Originally posted by folica:
It's like having a personal trainer!
Thanks Dhuge!

Oh yeah! Keep rest intervals to 60-90 seconds.

Good advice. But, I would not have a beginner start with heavy exercise composed of dumbells & compound movements. They'd be likely to do the movements wrong and could hurt themselves. That's why you want to start out with machines, to develop good form for the compound exercises LATER.

It's why people skiing for the first time don't go on black diamond slopes

Also, remember to eat six small meals per day instead of three clunkers like most people do. Works out to about once every 2-3 hours. Each small meal should include a quality source of protein and a quality source of carbs.

quote:

Originally posted by YoungGuy:
Good advice. But, I would not have a beginner start with heavy exercise composed of dumbells & compound movements. They'd be likely to do the movements wrong and could hurt themselves. That's why you want to start out with machines, to develop good form for the compound exercises LATER.

It's why people skiing for the first time don't go on black diamond slopes

This is bullshit.

Start with compound exercises. You don't have to start heavy, but start with what is relatively heavy for YOU. Machines train a limited range of motion and a less optimal motor pattern is developed.

Just because you don't go down the big hill first (heavy weight) doesn't mean you don't use the proper skis (exercises) when taking the bunny-hill (light weight).

I agree with Huge, but I am not as buff so I can't call you out as much. While I agree.. don't go heavy like Dhuge, just heavy respective to your strength level. I am a firm believer that machines are crap compared to free weights when done right, just find a weight level that you can maintain proper form with.

I have done a fair bit of lifting in my lifetime (have pictures too if you don't believe me) so I disagree with some of the advice posted above if you are NOT yet an advanced lifter.

1). Suggesting that beginners do exercises such as Cleans and Snatches is very dangerous without getting proper instructions from a qualified trainer. Plus, most commercial gyms, which are very different from college or military gyms, will not allow you do those two exercises because most don't have the proper equipment e.g. power lifting platforms. Those two exercises are really more geared towards serious atheletes looking to develop exposive strength, not your average joe.


2). Some machines are very useful for doing certain types of isolation exercises such rotator cuff exercises, which I recommend people should spend some time doing before attempting any free weights pressing exercises. Also most beginners will not be able to pullup their body weights. This is another example where cable machines will be a good substitute with pull downs. I do agree that the majority of one's exercise program should be focused on free weights to allow for equal development of stabilizer muscles. But machines definitely have their place.

Here is my advice, realizing most us on this forum probably have full-time jobs and have limited time:

-Weight train 3 times a week. Don't train for two consecutive days in a row. If you are working out as intensly as you are suppose to, going at it again the next day is counter productive. Muscle grows while you are resting, not at the gym.

-When it comes to exercises, stick to the basics compound exercises that have stood the test of time: Squat (don't round your back), deadlift (again don't round your back), benchpress (do rotator cuff exercises prior), Military presses (again rotator cuff exercises prior), Pullups or cable machine pull downs. Reason why I emphasize rotator cuff exercises is because for most guys, unfortunately, the benchpress and chest development is an ego exercise and 9 times out of 10 you will start up with more weights you are handle. Rotator cuff exercises provides good warm and will prevent injuries.

-Each time you go to the gym you should try make progress on at least one of these things: # of reps, # of sets, weight used, or time under tension (speed).

-Getting a good body is 90% diet and 10% exercise. Alot of people don't realize that. To build muscle, you need more calories than your body expend. Don't try to loose fat and build muscle at the same time because calorie-wise they are two contradicting goals. So multiply your weights in lbs by 15 = calories you should intake per day. Spread those calories in a 40% carb, 40% protein, 20% fat ratio. Drink lost of water and spread your calories into 5 or six smaller meals evenly spaced out through the day.

Be consistent and make sure you have a decent head of hair and you should be menshealth coverpage worthy in no time.

You make some good points, but you also make a lot of bad ones. Your average Joe does not want to look average, but he doesn't know any better. If you want to look average, then do what average people do. If you want to be strong, big, and muscular, do big and compound lifts. Olympic lifts like Snatches, even. They aren't hard to learn, even if you just look at step by step pictures of a rep or ask an Oly lifter to show you.

Also, 40% carb intake? Fat intake should be higher than Carb intake. Consume 1/3 of your daily carb intake pre workout, and the rest immediately post workout. In my case, I take in 50 grams of carbs pre workout, and 100 post. It's called Nutrient timing. Buy the book on Amazon for like $7.

Make breakfast a large meal (hopefully a preworkout meal). Start the metabolic fire early in the day, then add a log to the fire every 2 hours.

Kick your own ass in the gym. Nobody ever got big without putting out...unless 40% of their intake was from D-bol tabs.

Later baldies!

I thought I'd add my two cents:

I actually agree more with Younguy on this one. If we are talking about a true "beginner"...in th sense of the word, I'm talking about someone who has no experience with working out at all...or hasn't done it in a long time, I would not have them start out with heavy weights and doing compound exercises. Younguy is right...without working on proper form and technique first, someone could hurt themselves. HOWEVER, I will add that Dhuge is right that if someone wants to lean up and put on mass (muscle) quickly, this is the way to go...but I would only recommend this type of training for a newbie IF a trainer was present. Other than that, starting slower is better even if it doesn't give them the yield they want as quicklly. Form first, intensity later.

Falc

Well just offering my input.

Those posters who advocate safety first are right and know what they are talking about.

Like with my any forum, you have to filter through the info with some plain old common sense. Dhuge67 is saying that "fat intake should be higher than carb intake" - before you go off stuffing yourself with almonds and shugging down olive oil by the bottle, please do some research. And he is advising to buy a $7 book on Amazon - anything info worth $7 can probably be found for free from google.

Anyways I just want to bring this discussion back to hairloss for bit. This thread really struck a note with me because one, I wanted to join in the fun since I'm a health nut also and two, because it just reiterates how our looks is really important to us eventhough vanity is one of the seven deadly sins. I have a picture very similar to what Falceros posted i.e. a picture of me with my gym results wearing a CAP! a CAP! Because at times I do wish that my hair can better "match" the rest of me. Maybe after a HT, it will.... fingers crossed.

Awesome thread. Keep it coming.

Dhhuge is right, you have to be intense to make gains. No if ands or buts. That is if you want to separate yourself from the average joes. Technique, safety, diet,etc, all have a very important part in your training regime. If guys are serious they should hire a personal trainer. Not those hacks that work at the gyms but a real professional, like and ex ifbb pro. These guys can tweak your work out and diet to maximize your potential. So much crap advice is given, thats why you see the same guys year after year with the same build. One guy might need more carbs than the other, or less fat. Depends on the induvidual.
Getting a spectacular physique ( not a pretty good one) is extremely difficult, and takes years of hard work and total dedication. Thats why they are so few and far between

Falc--right on with the safety and form first.

Dhuge has given some good advise and a great workout for mass. I did this workout with a friend pro lineman and it was a very similar workout that the Buffalo Bills used. Definitely helped build mass quickly. I personally didn't like it. I have always been more lean and usually am 184 at 6.1. When I bulked to 198 I felt sluggish. Not good for a guy that played goalie in hockey and high level tennis.

We are all different but keeping in good shape is all apart of the self confidence thing.

Nelly Lives!