Weight Lifting Tips

[DPancoast]

I don't know how much you guys know about lifting weights. But I figured I'd share some of the things that I've picked up/learned from people I work out with, the internet, stuff like that. Feel free to add your own to this thread. We have to get this forum started!

First, here's my top 10 notes that you should always remember no matter what:

1. Dont try to impress anyone, theres no point.
2. Dont try to overdo it, youll just get hurt.
3. Stay dedicated, results dont happen overnight.
4. Eat 6 times a day.
5. Do the same routine until it gets too easy.
6. Dont try to max out everytime.
7. Talk to a trainer, not a message board.
8. In the beginning, work on form, not weight.
9. Once you are acclimated, work on weight, but maintain form.
10. Get a partner to lift with for motivation.

- If you're just starting out, don't rush it in the beginning. You'll feel sore the first few workouts but once your body gets adjusted you'll be fine. If you're looking to tone up and define, use lighter weights and more reps. For bulking up stack on the weights, do between 6-9 reps per set and do them real slow. The main thing to remember is not to push yourself if you're hurting. Lactic acid burning is ok, joint pain or if something "just doesn't feel right" needs to be avoided.

- It's essential to leave a days rest between sessions. You also might want to check out some protein supplements later on down the track if you're looking to bulk up. But it's also healthier in the long run anyway.

- If you dont weigh alot, I would say try and gain some and then do lighter weight and more reps. Just remember to alternate each day what body parts you work out, never do the same body part two days in a row. I usually do something along these lines...

Mon. - chest, triceps and shoulders
Tues. - back and biceps
Wed. - chest, triceps and shoulders
Thurs. - back and biceps
Fri. - cardio, abs

Personally, i never cared to work my legs, but if youre trying to work them out just treat em like any other body part. Its different for everyone though, just create a workout specific to what you want and go for it.

- Stick with big, compound movements. Squats, deadlifts, bench press, military press, dips, pullups, bents rows. Build a good strength foundation using these lifts before adding in much isolation work (to build the nice pretty biceps you know you want)

- Diet is super important as well. This is the part that Im at focused on the most because I couldn't gain anything before. If you're serious, you should be eating 6 times a day, with 3 of the meals including some form of protein supplement, or shakes. Keep in mind that Im an MMA fighter so I have to be at certain weights defending on what class I want to fight at. So most of the tips won't be specific to you. If you search around, you'll find something that fits what you want.

- Myself being vegetarian, gaining the right weight is hard. If you're in a situation where you can't gain weight or you are also a vegeterian or vegan, then consuming Whey protein will help. you'll want to eat like 6 times a day and try to keep the protein high. A guy im training with is bulking up to move up in weight class and he eats 4 meals a day and consumes 2 protein shakes a day. He also drinks a glass of soymilk before he goes to bed. Regular milk has casein protein in it, which is slower absorbing than whey and is better suited to before sleep. Sleep is pretty much an 8 hour fast for your body. As for supplements, what I like to take is a Whey Protein (if you are bent against it you can get a soy protein supplement). Xyience Nox CG3 is good for extra pumps and stamina. Also look into getting a container of Glutamine power and add that to your protein shakes. It helps repair muscle tissue. As always keep up on a multivitamin. You must keep your body healthy or you'll see no progress...Cardio will help cut the fat down and help you get a little more toned. Also focus on lifting light weights but alot of times if you want to tone...heavy weights with less reps will bulk you up...a good combination will get you bulked and ripped. As far as protein shakes go...here's some recipes I like to follow:

-- Throw vanilla protein in orange juice and it tastes like a creamcicle...orange ice doesn't blend the protein down right and makes it look almost curdled but trust me there is nothing wrong with it.

-- A cup of orange juice, a few ice cubes, either vanilla or strawberry protein, a teaspoon of glutamine, some frozen berries, and a small banana...blend in a blender for a nice smoothie.

-- chocolate protein with chocolate milk, a banana and some peanut butter is good but i never tried it.

- You can come up with some others on your own based on your taste. One last thing is that when you get to the weight you want to be at drop down to 5 meals a day and only take the protein shake after you work out. Still with the glutamine though. Its easier to take weight off than to put it on (atleast in the healthy way) so don't get frustrated if it takes a while.

- Like I said above. Some of these things are essential to everyone. However, some of the things I mentioned won't work well for you because everyone is different. Just talk to as many qualified and knowledgable people as you can and research the web. Most of all GOOD LUCK! :high5:

Links:

www.menshealth.com (http://www.menshealth.com)
muscle-fitnessinfo.com (http://www.snowboardaddicts.com/muscle-fitnessinfo.com)
www.ast-ss.com (http://www.ast-ss.com)
www.t-nation.com (http://www.t-nation.com)
www.fitnessonline.com (http://www.fitnessonline.com)
www.atozfitness.com (http://www.atozfitness.com)
www.sport-fitness-advisor.com (http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com) ::CONTRIBUTED BY "thedude"::
http://abcbodybuilding.com/::CONTRIBUTED BY "omoore61"::
www.acefitness.org (www.acefitness.org/)::CONTRIBUTED BY "SpottyFish"::
www.bodybuilding.com (www.bodybuilding.com/)::CONTRIBUTED BY "Enodulolc"::

[thedude]

thsi is a good web site to check out. sicne i don't want to spedn a ton of moeny on weights, i've been doign the dumbell routin. i'm about readyt o move the weight up a little bit, but all the info on thsi site is really good. i'm also workgin on a marathon running routine, and i am averaging right now about 35 miles a week
sport-fitness-advisor.com (http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/)

[DPancoast]

Any links or anything that you guys have, post them up and I can add them to my first post as this thread grows (WHICH IT WILL! :mmph: :thumb:).

[SpottyFish]

I'll get to posting something long and involved later tonight. Health and fitness is like my most favorite subject in the world (hence, why I have a degree in it)!

Here is a good link to start with: www.acefitness.org

Also, if anyone has any questions for me, please feel free to ask! I'll post more later.

[omoore61]

Id figure id chime in here since im pretty well versed in the weightlifing, dieting, physiology stuff. Also, i train with competitive bodybuilders and a few personal trainers so im not an idiot(at least about this lol).

To reiterate DP's important points the good and the incorrect. The incorrect meaning they are good for him but probably wont be for you.
Good
- Compound movements: These will build more muscle than machines, those are for girls. The way they build more muscle is this, they recruit more muscle fiber to work the weights and use various stabilizer muscles to move the weight which machines dont use. Free weights = compound movements for those who dont know. Basically any db's or bb movements. The most common being the bench press(bb or db), squat, deadlift, rows, etc.
- 6 meals a day: Very Important, id say moreso than the workouts. First of all the more you eat the faster your metabolism. This means your body can handle more nutrients, but also by spreading them out it allows the nutrients to be utilized rather than going to waste(ever eat a big meal at a restaurant and go **** it out, ok). Protein and carbs should make up 80% of the cals depending on your goals, and fat being the final 20% of cals.
- Types of foods: He didnt necessarily cover this and this is also important. The best foods for protein would be eggs and meat(chicken, beef, tuna or any fish, turkey etc.). The reason for this, without getting complicated is because they have the best biological value, better proteins essentially. The best carbs aren't really the best tasting but thats part of life. They would be oats(oatmeal), whole grain rice(particularly brown and long grain), bp's arent bad and a few others im forgetting. Also, eat your veggies, they are important as well.
- Rest: The only time you grow is when you rest, thats a fact. When you train you tear down muscle fibers, in order for them to repair themselves bigger and stronger(grow) is for them to rest. A general rule is 3-4 days off of a body part after it is trained, this includes muscles that are indirectly trained. What do i mean by that? I mean your triceps get worked indirectly on a chest day, the pushing movement works them out. Also your biceps get worked on a back day. Keep these in mind because most people fail to rest their muscles properly and that keeps them from growing.

I think i covered all the bases with the important aspects of weightlifting and dieting. The things that were wrong with DP's list are this:

- For 3 of his meals he mentioned he gets in a supplement. That should be a last resort, only if you dont have time to eat whole foods. He is a vegetarian so it makes sense why he does that but most poeple should stick with whole foods because whole foods are always better than supplements. The only 2 times i personally take in supplements ar the 2 times when they are NEEDED. First off, is post workout you should have WHEY PROTEIN. The reason to have whey is because it is the fastest digested protein available, i.e. it gets to your muscles faster. Also post workout you should have high glycogen carbs as well as low glycogen carbs. HG carbs are, sugars. The best being dextrose. LG carbs are oats, rice etc. like i mentioned were "good" carbs before. Another LG carb thats good for post workout shakes is malto dextrin. The reasoning behind the carbs post workout is because the way carbs work is they create an insulin spike which basically helps iwth absorbtion of nutrition, your body needing to digest hte protein at that point makes it vital. Ok i think i covered that? O and the other protein supplement i have is CASEIN protein, which is derived from milk i believe. This protein i have before i go to sleep because it is the slowest digested protein. Take some of this in water or milk befoer you go to sleep and it will feed your body in a period, however many hours, you go without nutrition. Casein usually takes 5-7 hours to fully digest so you can see how good it is, its like feeding your body throughout the night while you rest.
- The other thing that should be noted is his workout plan: It is HIS personal plan and nobody should follow any posted plan on the internet, try whats best for you. I personally only work out each body part once a week at the MOST. I grow much faster like this and ive tried it a million different ways.
- Lastly: DO YOUR SQUATS. Squats are one of the core exercises that build strength and size faster than anything else you can do, besides deadlifts(but dont worry about those so much right NOW). First off, get someone to show you the correct form or look it up on the internet. Trust me i ****ed my back up doing too much weight with poor form and it hurt for a while. Some poeple do more damage, i consider myself lucky. Form is vital on those, for your well beign not just for growth. Ok back to squats. The best effect you can get from squats is that when you train legs hard it releases a form of gh/testosterone(i forgot which) into body. Testosterone = growth. Also, im sure everyone has seen the guy in the gym with the massive upper body and pencil legs, it just looks STUPID. He has the one of the biggest upper body's ive seen but when people see him they just laugh, really. Big legs match a big body and when you are proportional it doesnt go unnoticed.

I think i covered most of everything haha, hopefully this will help some of you. I wish i had this info when i was 5'10 135 a few years ago and couldnt figure out how to grow lol :blah: blah:

[omoore61]

Also check out http://abcbodybuilding.com/ and go to the excercise section, go to the slideshow side. They have plenty of exercises and show the form needed to do them. bodybuilding.com has a good site also, very cheap supplements for anyone needing them...

[DPancoast]

Yeah, I probably should have mentioned it alittle more. My post are just things that I have learned for myself. It's just an example of what someone like me does. If you're still wondering it's always good to do research!

[omoore61]

yea there wasnt really anything wrong with what you said im just pointing out that you do whats best for you but it may not be whats best for someone else. Someone just getting into weightlifting might assume that it works for you so it should work for them. I didnt know any better when i started, training chest like 3-4 times a week, poor form etc. :help: lol

[thedude]

this is my beef wiht machines, they don't let your body move naturally. you are restricted to the movements of the machine itself, so you may nto get the full range of motion you need, even if oyu adjust the machines to your size. using free weights is usually the better option, and starting with the lighter weights and practice form. then once you have good form, then go and work on using heavier weights. and it is important to KEEP A RECORD of your activities, how much weight you are doing, and everything else. thsi will help you montior your progress, and will help you judge for your next possible weight increase for certain exercises.

and sicne nobody metnioned it yet, i'de also liek to poitn out that what type of cltohig you wear can be a deciding factor in hwo comfortable you are whe you work out. don't wear clothing that is too lose, because you can risk gettign caught on something. you shouldn't wear cloths that are too warm. us ually warmer cloths will collect more sweat and make you feel miserable. and don't wear cltohign too lgiht either, because when you rest, you sweat combined wih the air will chill your body to a certain degree,a nd in most peopel thsi will make them feel stiff. and hwne you are stiff, you don't geta proper workout, and usually makes oyu lose form and you can hur yourself. and dont wear clothign that is restricting movememt. there was a kdi back in high school where i went,a nd he was a big fan of super tight tshirt when he worked out, that was until he had an asthma attack and hsi shirt just restricted his breathign evenmore. kids fine, but because he could't expand hsi chest fully when he was breathing, he got less air and made hsi attack even worse. plsu tight clothgin limits your natural movements. fidn soemthign that meets that happy medium, and you shoudl be comfortable

[phillyboy]

kind of a random point but i'm drinking one right now so i figured i'd share my protein shake recipe: Nature's Life Super Pro-Green protein powder, chocolate Silk soymilk, creamy peanutbutter, flax seeds, banana. It actually took a bit of looking into when I worked at a healthfood store but it's really really healthy.

[thedude]

chocolate Silk soymilk
so good...

[DPancoast]

so good...

haha, that reminds me of StrongBad (http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html) and the Teen Girl Squad!

But yeah, SoyMilk is awesome.

[SpottyFish]

Yeah, I probably should have mentioned it alittle more. My post are just things that I have learned for myself. It's just an example of what someone like me does. If you're still wondering it's always good to do research!

Do your research, but at least make sure said research is backed up by scientific studies. I read body-building magazines and Men's health at the gym for comical relief, because there are still SO MANY exercise/weight lifting myths that are being propogated by these magazines it's not even funny.

[mk303]

i work out by not working out. it's like reverse pyschology. my body is soooo stupid! i can't believe it falls for that everytime.

[kelly]

Do your research, but at least make sure said research is backed up by scientific studies. I read body-building magazines and Men's health at the gym for comical relief, because there are still SO MANY exercise/weight lifting myths that are being propogated by these magazines it's not even funny.
Maybe you should start a "common exercise/weight lifting myths" thread :)

[SpottyFish]

Maybe you should start a "common exercise/weight lifting myths" thread :)

I thought about that today, I'll do that when I get some spare time.

[RideTheory]

Do your research, but at least make sure said research is backed up by scientific studies. I read body-building magazines and Men's health at the gym for comical relief, because there are still SO MANY exercise/weight lifting myths that are being propogated by these magazines it's not even funny.
ooo..i have a question...so i finaly got motivated enough to go to the gym at least 4x a week starting Jan 1st ( yes it was my new years resolution) and so far i have gained a solid 15 lbs, doing this routine, Mon- Biceps, Triceps, Abs...Tues- Chest Shoulders abs...Wed-rest...Thurs-Bi's Tri's abs....Fri-Chest shoulders abs....so here is my question....i need to do legs now that snowboarding is done...and im at a plateau in my workout so what is a good 4 day split like the one i have been doing...keeping in mind that i do like at least 4 diff exercises per muscle group right now...i dont want to be in the gym longer than an hour and a half cuz i just get burned out and loose motivation...so any suggestion would be great!!!

[DPancoast]

If I were you, instead of doing abs for all 4 days, do abs for 2 and legs for 2, and see where that gets you. I would do squats and leg press.

[yoshie]

well here are some of my inputs.

- weight lifting is for building muscle, cardio is for losing fat. don't expect to do a treadmill and gain muscle.
- instead of lifting 5 days a week, try lifting 3 days a week. you need a day at least to rest your muscles allowing them to rebuild. also have the weekend off.
- make sure you work different muscle groups each day. maybe on mondays, work on arms (bicepts, tricepts, forearm etc), then wednesday work on chest and back(shoulders, abs, traps, lats etc), and friday work on legs (quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves etc).
- ALWAYS have a spotter. never weight lift yourself.
- be sure to have proper form for each exercise.
- keep your back straight, and force yourself to use only the desired muscle group. (ex. do not use your back when doing hammer curls)
- when weight descends, make sure it goes down slow. never just 'let go' of the weights or allow the force of gravity to do the work. push back on the gravitational pull to allow the weight to go down slowly. this is where the real workout is.
- work on EVERY muscle group. you do not want to only work on arms or chest, because you would be unproportional.


the next few tips are solely for mass training (bulking)

- make up your own sets, for me, it depends solely on the exercise. I might do 4 sets of 8-10 reps. KEEP THE REPS LOW! if you go over 10 reps (for 5 sets), increase the weight, you're lifting too little. there is a huge difference between bulking and toning; and the amount of reps is the deciding factor.
- train with weights approximately ~70-80% of your maximum.
- always aim to increase your maximum. you can always keep a log of how many sets and how many reps you are able to do. and see if you can increase it every week until you plateau.
- eat A LOT of food, high calorie foods with less saturated fats. you can always split your portions.
- keep your resting periods in between sets under 30 seconds.
- do NOT, i repeat, do NOT work out a day more than 30 minutes. otherwise you're overworking yourself and you do NOT want to do that to your body.
- do not rest in any position during a rep, such as when doing a squat, go in upright position, then rest for 5 seconds and descend back down.
- don't do much cardio. during a bulking period, you want least interference between your growth period.
- you can take supplements such as flax oils, omega 3 fatty acids, whey protein, glutamine, vitamins, creatine etc. this will only help you, but is a strain on your wallet.
- SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP! get the most sleep you can. because when you sleep is when your muscles rebuild.


remember the concept of building muscle. to build muscle is to tear them. every time you lift a heavy weight for a repeated amount of time, you are doing micro-tears in your muscle fibers. then your body will rebuild them larger and stronger. so your muscles SHOULD be sore after you are lifting.

[SpottyFish]

- weight lifting is for building muscle, cardio is for losing fat. don't expect to do a treadmill and gain muscle.


Ack! okay, here's my beef with that:

ALL striated muscle (ie: all muscles except your heart) in your body is made up of two types of fibers. Type I (Slow Twitch) and Type II (Fast Twitch). Slow twitch fibers are designed to resist fatigue over long duration, while fast twitch fibers are designed to produce power and strength. The ratio of fibers in your muscles are dependent on genetics.

SO....when doing cardio exercises, you're training your Type I muscle fibers, and actually are building muscle. No, you won't see hypertrophy to the degree that you would if you were body building, but technically you ARE building muscle.

[omoore61]

well here are some of my inputs.

- weight lifting is for building muscle, cardio is for losing fat. don't expect to do a treadmill and gain muscle.
- instead of lifting 5 days a week, try lifting 3 days a week. you need a day at least to rest your muscles allowing them to rebuild. also have the weekend off.
- make sure you work different muscle groups each day. maybe on mondays, work on arms (bicepts, tricepts, forearm etc), then wednesday work on chest and back(shoulders, abs, traps, lats etc), and friday work on legs (quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves etc).
- ALWAYS have a spotter. never weight lift yourself.
- be sure to have proper form for each exercise.
- keep your back straight, and force yourself to use only the desired muscle group. (ex. do not use your back when doing hammer curls)
- when weight descends, make sure it goes down slow. never just 'let go' of the weights or allow the force of gravity to do the work. push back on the gravitational pull to allow the weight to go down slowly. this is where the real workout is.
- work on EVERY muscle group. you do not want to only work on arms or chest, because you would be unproportional.


the next few tips are solely for mass training (bulking)

- make up your own sets, for me, it depends solely on the exercise. I might do 4 sets of 8-10 reps. KEEP THE REPS LOW! if you go over 10 reps (for 5 sets), increase the weight, you're lifting too little. there is a huge difference between bulking and toning; and the amount of reps is the deciding factor.
- train with weights approximately ~70-80% of your maximum.
- always aim to increase your maximum. you can always keep a log of how many sets and how many reps you are able to do. and see if you can increase it every week until you plateau.
- eat A LOT of food, high calorie foods with less saturated fats. you can always split your portions.
- keep your resting periods in between sets under 30 seconds.
- do NOT, i repeat, do NOT work out a day more than 30 minutes. otherwise you're overworking yourself and you do NOT want to do that to your body.
- do not rest in any position during a rep, such as when doing a squat, go in upright position, then rest for 5 seconds and descend back down.
- don't do much cardio. during a bulking period, you want least interference between your growth period.
- you can take supplements such as flax oils, omega 3 fatty acids, whey protein, glutamine, vitamins, creatine etc. this will only help you, but is a strain on your wallet.
- SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP! get the most sleep you can. because when you sleep is when your muscles rebuild.


remember the concept of building muscle. to build muscle is to tear them. every time you lift a heavy weight for a repeated amount of time, you are doing micro-tears in your muscle fibers. then your body will rebuild them larger and stronger. so your muscles SHOULD be sore after you are lifting.

Everything you said was fine except whats in bold, thats inaccurate. Diet determines whether your bulking or cutting and diet alone. The reason behind this philosophy is because when youre cutting your strength declines, therefore you arent able to put up as much weight. Weight goes down and the reps go up to burn out the muscles typically. Just thought id clarify that for you, but the rest are good concepts. Also, whey protein is essential and isnt that expensive if you buy online or at discount stores, gnc will rape you however. A good price for whey should be like 25 bucks for a 5lb thing, which will be somewhere in the 90ish serving range.

[SpottyFish]

Actually, from a basic standpoint....yoshie is correct

[omoore61]

Actually, from a basic standpoint....yoshie is correct

wtf is a basic standpoint, why dont you elaborate instead of go out of your way to discredit my ACCURATE information once again. Reps low build strength and are good for bulking YES but you are not doing that when youre running a cutting diet because the strength isnt there. God youre annoying, please tell me how im wrong....from a basic standpoint of course.

[yoshie]

Actually, from a basic standpoint....yoshie is correct

yes to a certain degree you may build muscle from cardio. BUT, if you were to weight train for strength, people rarely incorporate too much cardio since they view cardio as being focused on mostly fat loss than muscle building.

Everything you said was fine except whats in bold, thats inaccurate. Diet determines whether your bulking or cutting and diet alone. The reason behind this philosophy is because when youre cutting your strength declines, therefore you arent able to put up as much weight. Weight goes down and the reps go up to burn out the muscles typically. Just thought id clarify that for you, but the rest are good concepts. Also, whey protein is essential and isnt that expensive if you buy online or at discount stores, gnc will rape you however. A good price for whey should be like 25 bucks for a 5lb thing, which will be somewhere in the 90ish serving range.

yeah you're right. i try to keep the reps down and weight up, due to i can work out to exhaustion much faster. i always aim to lift till i can't lift anymore. and when doing a restrictive set of a certain number of reps, it's much faster doing low reps than high. but i've been in the process of mass building, so it may differ for others.

and for whey protein, yeah there are definitely brands that are cheap. though, my choice I prefer optimum whey protein, due to its straight up pure whey protein without including all the un-needed fats. and it tastes good too =)

[yoshie]

whoops, i thought ScottyFish was talking about the cardio thing when she said I was correct to a certain extent.

[SpottyFish]

Because I have better things to do than argue with you

wtf is a basic standpoint, why dont you elaborate instead of go out of your way to discredit my ACCURATE information once again. Reps low build strength and are good for bulking YES but you are not doing that when youre running a cutting diet because the strength isnt there. God youre annoying, please tell me how im wrong....from a basic standpoint of course.

[omoore61]

yes to a certain degree you may build muscle from cardio. BUT, if you were to weight train for strength, people rarely incorporate too much cardio since they view cardio as being focused on mostly fat loss than muscle building.



yeah you're right. i try to keep the reps down and weight up, due to i can work out to exhaustion much faster. i always aim to lift till i can't lift anymore. and when doing a restrictive set of a certain number of reps, it's much faster doing low reps than high. but i've been in the process of mass building, so it may differ for others.

and for whey protein, yeah there are definitely brands that are cheap. though, my choice I prefer optimum whey protein, due to its straight up pure whey protein without including all the un-needed fats. and it tastes good too =)

yea thats good, the best tasting protein ever is muscle milk though, its a casein protein though...Plus it has way too many fats, something like 320 cals in a serving. I usually mix it up so crazy i cant taste the protein anymore its all oatmeal, fruit, milk and whatever else i can find. But yea low reps with higher weight is good for building up your strength. Just reemember to cals, especially carbs up and your strength/mass will keep on building :)

[omoore61]

You know, until now, I really didn't have an issue with you, but you're a downright rude individual.

Thats fine, you tell go around preaching all this fitness talk trying to discredit me when you dont practice what you preach. I cant stand people who talk all this stuff but have nothing to back it up. I might be rude/*******/whatever but can back up everything i say.

[SpottyFish]

I'm still giggling at the fact that you somehow think I don't workout or am out of shape.

[RideTheory]

with all this fighting...no one has answered my question on the second page of this thing!!! so Damnit....someone answer my question

[omoore61]

Proof is in the pudding.

Ridetheory. I would say you shouldnt be hitting chest and all that twice a week, there is really no need. you can grow plenty off once a week, probably moreso i would say.

Its hard to make up a split for you if you dont say what your conditionals are. Such as, do you nto want to be there on the weekends, what exercises do you want to do(compound or isolation) and what your condition is now. Let me know those and ill help you out :)

[thedude]

haha, that reminds me of StrongBad (http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html) and the Teen Girl Squad!

But yeah, SoyMilk is awesome.

lol, the Teen Girl Squad **** is so damn funny. i liek how the idea for that section of the site was actually spawned through a e-mail these teeny-bopper sent in asking if he coudl make a animation about them. well, they got it, and in every episode one of them (at least) dies.

[RideTheory]

Proof is in the pudding.

Ridetheory. I would say you shouldnt be hitting chest and all that twice a week, there is really no need. you can grow plenty off once a week, probably moreso i would say.

Its hard to make up a split for you if you dont say what your conditionals are. Such as, do you nto want to be there on the weekends, what exercises do you want to do(compound or isolation) and what your condition is now. Let me know those and ill help you out :)
I want to go mon, tues..thurs, Fri... resting on wed sat and sun..so a 4 day split...i want to hit all my major muscles arms chest shoulders legs abs back...um i just want to get strong...not sure about all the compound/isolation stuff...right now i have put on 15 solid lbs of muscle since Jan 1st 5'9 1/2" 157lbs 6% body fat...right now my arms are only at 15 1/2 in. im repping 205 on bench...i havent worked my legs out at all so im sure ill gain more once i start to do legs...but over all im in good condition...i just want a good 4 day split with like maybe 4-5 exercises for each muscle group..so like 4 tri's and 4 Bi's somthin like that...unless that isn't a good idea...i just am at a plateau right now and i need to do legs now that snowboarding is over...i just dont really know what muscle groups are good to work out together on the same day..so any advise would be cool

[thedude]

Ridetheory. I would say you shouldnt be hitting chest and all that twice a week, there is really no need. you can grow plenty off once a week, probably moreso i would say.

that's all relative to the type of lifting, right? one of my friends lifts religiously, and he says it's because if you don't work that muscle group for 72 hours, the built up tissue will deteriorate. so he has hsi schedual set so that he does each routine 2 times a week, and maybe a light weight session on the weekend just to keep the muscles active so they keep built up

[DPancoast]

Thats fine, you tell go around preaching all this fitness talk trying to discredit me when you dont practice what you preach. I cant stand people who talk all this stuff but have nothing to back it up. I might be rude/*******/whatever but can back up everything i say.

If you guys are going to argue, do it outside of my thread. It's not the point of the thread. The point of the thread is to help people out. Whether you're discrediting each other or not, do it in a civil manner and provide proof. Im not saying this against anyone, but anyone can say they know their stuff.

Basically, don't piss and moan in my thread please. That pisses me off. Defend yourself in a mature way.

[omoore61]

that's all relative to the type of lifting, right? one of my friends lifts religiously, and he says it's because if you don't work that muscle group for 72 hours, the built up tissue will deteriorate. so he has hsi schedual set so that he does each routine 2 times a week, and maybe a light weight session on the weekend just to keep the muscles active so they keep built up

They dont deteriorate, but some people feel more productive working stuff out twice a week. Only people that i personally know that can do that and still grow are on steroids.

[omoore61]

I want to go mon, tues..thurs, Fri... resting on wed sat and sun..so a 4 day split...i want to hit all my major muscles arms chest shoulders legs abs back...um i just want to get strong...not sure about all the compound/isolation stuff...right now i have put on 15 solid lbs of muscle since Jan 1st 5'9 1/2" 157lbs 6% body fat...right now my arms are only at 15 1/2 in. im repping 205 on bench...i havent worked my legs out at all so im sure ill gain more once i start to do legs...but over all im in good condition...i just want a good 4 day split with like maybe 4-5 exercises for each muscle group..so like 4 tri's and 4 Bi's somthin like that...unless that isn't a good idea...i just am at a plateau right now and i need to do legs now that snowboarding is over...i just dont really know what muscle groups are good to work out together on the same day..so any advise would be cool

Compound movements are basically movements with dumbbells and barbels, free weights. Machines are primarily isolation, they isolate a muscle and take out stabilizer muscles that are used to assist in the movement. Compounds are for men, isolations are for girls basically(to me at least) and compounds will build more muscle.

If you want to do 4 days a week on M,T, Th, and Fri with all the muscle groups hit heres what i suggest, also keep in mind back will probably your longest day because its one of the biggest muscles with so many different areas to hit.

Id do Monday Back/bis
- Warm up with some ez curl bar curls or db curls to get the bis pumped
- Wide grip pull ups, if youre not strong enough for these yet, go with lat pull downs, remember to keep your back straight and absolutely dont go behind your neck, pull straight down to your chest and fully extend your arms when you let the weight back up, the stretch is important
- Deadlifts, start with really light weight and use proper form, this will kick your ass if you havent done them for a while. You'll be sore for like a week straight. These are imporant though and many people overlook them because they arent fun or dont workout a muscle many people will notice. They are so imporant to building your lower back, remember you will be building a muscular upper body and the lower back has to support it all, plus this exercise is the best mass builder period.
- Seated or bent over rows, remember to stretch out and use proper form.
- I like upright rows for traps, shrugs are fine also. Some poeple do traps on their shoulder day but after doing some heavier deadlifts your shrugs get worked out A LOT anyways.
- Straight bar curls are always good and workout your forearms, remember your bis should be doing all the work, if they arent lower the weight.
- Maybe finish off with some concentration curls to burn out your bis
- Other good exercises i left out that i periodically cycle in are bent over 1 arm db rows, t- bar rows, hyperextensions are good if you dont want to do deadlifts but i rec deadlifts, pullovers, and im sure theres something else but thats all i can think of for back. For bis, preacher curls are good, Hammer curls are VERY good to substitute for straight bar curls, cable curls are OK.

Tues - Chest/tris
Warmup with some dips and some windmills(to warm up your shoulders) and stretch your chest out
- I dont use flat bb because it puts too much strain on my rotator cuff so ill use flat bench db's
- incline bb or db
- Ill normally throw in a few sets of skull crushers while im at the benches
- DB flys, work so much better than the machines
- Close grip bench
- Ill usually finish off with some weighted dips then hit some cable pushdowns with a rope or something
I dont spend as much time on chest, its such a small muscle and most people place way too much emphasis on it and it becomes out of proportion with their body. Also tris are 2/3 of your arm, keep that in mind.
- Exercises i left out that you can switch in there are pushups for chest, and for tris overhead extensions and im not sure what else right now for tris i left out.

Wed- off

Thurs - Legs
Warm up by walking on the treadmill for like 5 min or do some light squats and make sure you stretch out like crazy, very important.
- Squats!!! These should kick your ass, make sure you have proper form its so important otherwise youll **** up your back. You can start out on the smith machine for squats to get your form right before you do free squats. Make sure you go down to parallel otherwise youre wasting your time. Further down isnt as necessary, will only put strain on the knees. Best leg exercise period.
- Leg presses or extensions are good after that. Leg presses if you still have any life left after squats lol, but im usually toast so ill be a ***** and do some extensions(machine :( )
- For hamstrings straight leg deadlifts are killer but you'll probably sitll be sore from your deadlift day on monday so leg curls are fine.
- Calf raises, seated or standing.
- Legs should be a good solid day if you put in 4-5 sets of each exercise, remember they are a HUGE muscle group so train them hard. Exercises i left out are like lunges for glutes and hams but thats more of a girl exercise IMO, squats should do the job.

Fri - Delts
I like to space delts away from other days where muscle groups are used because you use delts a lot in your back day and also you use tris on different delt exercises and you dont want to overdo them, thats overtraining.
- Military presses or overhead db presses are good ones to start out with, do not do military's behind the neck, that will cause big problems down the road. Only lower them to where your arm is parallel with the floor.
- Lateral raises are good, i do those forward, side and then for my rear delts. I do 3 sets of each and that gets my shoulders.

This is just a suggestion from me. If youre in a plateau i would take a few days off and start fresh with this or one of your own routines. To avoid getting stuck in one i usually switch my routine every few weeks so my body doesnt get complacent with the same exercises and same weights over and over again, which is what happens and then you stop growing. Diet is equally, if not more important, than training so get a good diet going and eat as often as you can. Not huge meals but space out your cals and youll see much better results.

[SpottyFish]

If youre in a plateau i would take a few days off and start fresh with this or one of your own routines. To avoid getting stuck in one i usually switch my routine every few weeks so my body doesnt get complacent with the same exercises and same weights over and over again, which is what happens and then you stop growing.

I just wanted to highlight this out from the rest because of how essential it is. People get confused when they stop growing and then get frustrated. Fresh routines are important. I usually change mine every 3-4 weeks. You have to keep challenging your body!

[DPancoast]

otherwise it gets lazy! Don't want that.

[ADRsk8boarder]

take it easy when u lift cause i hate looking like a douche for only being able to bench 75lbs.

[jeffro1080]

ok I've been working out for a little while now. I am pretty happy with the results. I can't seem to get any farther...

I have a few questions

i've been like doing bench press, squats with free weights, and random free weight stuff every day. you guys say that you should only work out like 3 times a week???

how long are you suposed to be working out?

should my muscles ache really bad after each work out?? mine never do. after a few minutes the soreness goes away...

I feel like if I don't work out every day I will lose my tone. My abs are hard enough to maintain.... I do 180 crunches every day, how can people get away with only doing that once a week??

[ADRsk8boarder]

you should bench every other day so your muclses have time to rela and build up muscle.. if ur uscle dont hurt try a different workout on those mucles u want

[Lillybly1]

"Mon. - chest, triceps and shoulders
Tues. - back and biceps
Wed. - chest, triceps and shoulders
Thurs. - back and biceps
Fri. - cardio, abs

Personally, i never cared to work my legs, but if youre trying to work them out just treat em like any other body part. Its different for everyone though, just create a workout specific to what you want and go for it."


Regarding that... why don't guys work out their legs... Your legs need a workout just as much as the rest of your body... more times than not I'm in the gym and notice... the guys NEVER NEVER NEVER workout their legs! Then they're huge on top... w/ a tiny butt and no calves... c'mon... guys work out your lower body.

[Lillybly1]

ok I've been working out for a little while now. I am pretty happy with the results. I can't seem to get any farther...

I have a few questions

i've been like doing bench press, squats with free weights, and random free weight stuff every day. you guys say that you should only work out like 3 times a week???

how long are you suposed to be working out?

should my muscles ache really bad after each work out?? mine never do. after a few minutes the soreness goes away...

I feel like if I don't work out every day I will lose my tone. My abs are hard enough to maintain.... I do 180 crunches every day, how can people get away with only doing that once a week??

When you're lifting you should be very sore the next day- especially starting out... after a couple months... you may not be as sore; but you should be pushing it to failure on every lift... that means if you can do 3 sets of 12 reps... fairly easily and that last couple of reps isn't semi hard to get up- u should be lifting more weight... Yes you should be doing WEIGHTS only three times a week... or every other day, If your working out as hard as you should be, your body will need that rest...
On the inbetween days.. do kickboxing, mtn. biking... cardio.. intervals are good for training your body to buffer lactic acid... and Your body can handle doing abs everysingle day. you can also try some ab workouts with weights, medicine balls, and those blown up work out balls; they do wonders! And especially after you work out... push the fluids!

[Lillybly1]

Everything you said was fine except whats in bold, thats inaccurate. Diet determines whether your bulking or cutting and diet alone. The reason behind this philosophy is because when youre cutting your strength declines, therefore you arent able to put up as much weight. Weight goes down and the reps go up to burn out the muscles typically. Just thought id clarify that for you, but the rest are good concepts. Also, whey protein is essential and isnt that expensive if you buy online or at discount stores, gnc will rape you however. A good price for whey should be like 25 bucks for a 5lb thing, which will be somewhere in the 90ish serving range.

IT's not only diet that determines if your building size it is also the sets, reps and rest:

sets reps rest
Endurance 2-3 12-20 30sec.
Hypertrophy 3-6 6-12 30-90sec.
Strength 2-6 1-6 2-5min.

Strength is like... for extreme example power lifters... Hypertrophy is to grow size...extreme example body builders... and endurance... extreme example triathletes.

hope this helped.

Yes you're going to eat tons more calories if your trying to bulk up... tons of protien and LEAN meats... stay away from saturated fats... mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats are a good idea (nuts)... and complex carbs-good. simple sugars- not great, but okay immediately after working out for glycose, or some people pass out.

hope all helped.

[jstarr81488]

I was wondering if weight training could hinder your snowboarding? I lift heavily 3+ times a week ( rotaion based lifting) along with some sorta cardio exercise. Is there such thing as too much weight lifting in terms of snowboarding?

[jstarr81488]

Also any one have any experiance with criatine Im not thinking about using b/c I have a pretty good build. But some friends want to try it just wanted some opions one it.

[FearMe]

^ You have to be careful with Criatine. My cousin who used to be an AM weight lifter was taking a lot of it and it caused his heart to enlarge. If taken in moderation I think your fine.

[penguino]

yeah i agree

[ADRsk8boarder]

yea my friend used creatin and heis a sopmore 5'7 and weighs 185 all pure muscles its crazy

[codymcg]

My football coach gave us a list of banned supplements and Criatine is on it. Just a heads up for ya.

[codymcg]

All this time I thought it was a form of protein or something

[freestylefrenzy]

creatine causes kidney stones. kidney stones hurt. creatines not worht it.

[jstarr81488]

My football coach gave us a list of banned supplements and Criatine is on it. Just a heads up for ya.


Did he explain why it was banned because it isn't an enhanser.

[ADRsk8boarder]

ohh i get it never really new how it worked

[jstarr81488]

Criatine is found natuarlly in the body and there fore can not be banned b/c its impossible to rid your body of it.

[thedude]

"Mon. - chest, triceps and shoulders
Tues. - back and biceps
Wed. - chest, triceps and shoulders
Thurs. - back and biceps
Fri. - cardio, abs

Personally, i never cared to work my legs, but if youre trying to work them out just treat em like any other body part. Its different for everyone though, just create a workout specific to what you want and go for it."


Regarding that... why don't guys work out their legs... Your legs need a workout just as much as the rest of your body... more times than not I'm in the gym and notice... the guys NEVER NEVER NEVER workout their legs! Then they're huge on top... w/ a tiny butt and no calves... c'mon... guys work out your lower body.


my legs are evil. pure evil. because i ahve been runnign for so long, my thighs look like they coudl each wear their own set of pants. the runnign routine can help build muscle, and i've onyl used weights wihtmy legs maybe a total of one month, and that was back in my sophmore year of hihg school. for me, the key to buidlign muscle while running is have 2 days out of the runnign week dedidicaed to surges. thsi si where you run at about half of your threshold for a minuet, then you run at about 90% of your threshold for a minuet. it helps buidl thsoe legs muscles, and then the regular miles durign the week help toen those muscle and help with endurence. over all, it builds lung capacity too, whic for all of us is useful when the shred season comes aroudn again

[thedude]

My football coach gave us a list of banned supplements and Criatine is on it. Just a heads up for ya.
lol, this reminds me of some kid back in hihg school. he was one of our star linebackers, and he used that shti religiously. then hsi senior year, he dicided he didn't need it anymore, so he quit using it over the summer, continued lifting, and he seriously went form this gigatic muscle boudn kid to some stick. he was made waterboy for hsi seniro football season.

[SnoChica]

Criatine is found natuarlly in the body and there fore can not be banned b/c its impossible to rid your body of it.
Lots of things are found naturally in the body. However, anything in excess is bad for you. I'm sure when they test for creatine, they test for a certain level of the substance, not just a trace.

[codymcg]

yeah the list said to a certain conecentration, but they didn't say how much.

[ADRsk8boarder]

yea its like baseball, cycling and number of other sports.... it not a certain amount of the substance u have to have in body to make it illegal

[Enoduolc]

I didn't see it mentioned, but bodybuilding.com is a very good site for some information.

Working out is very important, unfortunetly I got a concussion and my doctor said I can't work out right now so it really sucks. I'm 5'7 used to weigh 145, but since I couldn't eat because of the concussion I lost about 20 pounds... I really hate being skinny. Anyway, when I get the ok from my doctor again this is my workout routine.

4 Day work out

Day 1)
Bench Press 4x8
Machine Press 4x10
Cable Crossovers 3x12
Barbell Rows 4x8
Wide-Grip Pull-ups 4x10
Deadlifts 4x12
Military Lifts 4x8
Crunches 4x20

Day2)
Squat 4x8
Seated Leg Curls 4x10
Leg Press 4x12
Barbell Curls 4x8
Incline Curls 4x12
Skull Crushers 4x8
Standing Calf Raises 4x12
Seated Calf Raises 4x12

Day3) Off

Day4)
Incline Bench 4x8
Seated Row 4x8
Bench Flys 4x10
One Arm DB Rows 4x10
Low Incline Flys 4x12
Bent-Over Lateral Raises 4x12
Dumbell Press 4x10
Pulldowns 4x10
Leg Raises 4x12
Weighted Crunches 4x12

Day5)
Seated Leg Curls 4x8
Leg Press 4x8
Laying Leg Curls 4x12
Hack Squat 4x12
Dumbell Curls 4x8
Tricep Extentions 4x8
Preacher Curls 4x12
Close Grip Bench Press 4x12
Seated Calf Raise 4x12
Standing Calf Raises 4x12

This work out is very good if you want to gain weight especially if your a hard gainer like me. However, it is important to eat 6 meals a day or more. Protien, Green Vegies, Bread (carbs), and Milk are your biggest ally.

[Adam goes bang]

maby i should try some lifting once in awhile. i seriously cannot even bench 95. lbs. All my strength is in my legs and midregion thats about it.

[DPancoast]

That's a pretty solid routine Enoduolc, and yeah Adam, just start off light, get a routine going and just makes sure you're consistant with doing it (at least every other day). You'll be lifting more in no time.

[jstarr81488]

Adam it will take you awhile to gain the correct muscles that are required to balance a bar. I had problems benching at first but after a solid two weeks I increased weight quite dramaticly.

[davidwayne]

There is quite a lot of useful info on fitness on here. Mostly dedicated to getting bigger and stronger and not so much balance and coordination which apply better to those who want to board better. Here's a thought. Once in a while get off the weights and plates and get on a swedish ball or a bosu ball. Very useful for snowboarding, much more than previous info listed. Nothing wrong with info, it just doesn't really apply as much to the sport. I am a trainer and have been one for 10 years and even though I like what these guys have to say it should be more inclusive. For those who want to sharpen up their riding ability, I will be happy to answer questions on core and balance exercises that simulate riding techniques. Might be useful for those less interested in bulk and more into performance. You can find me at www.waynepersonaltraining.com (http://www.waynepersonaltraining.com)...

[ADRsk8boarder]

take steriods and work out constantly

thats wut i did
http://users.chariot.net.au/~abgauci/buff_bagwell.jpg

[NorCal420]

Personally, i never cared to work my legs!

DPan! What are you saying!

The legs are your most important part of your body...they keep you attached to your board bro!

Here is my opinion on the subject:


NorCal Snowboarding: Weight Training Issue 1

The Workout is important to any sport, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, skateboarding, if you train you will prevent injury. If you train, your body will handle tramua from falls, it will bulk up your immune system, and it will progress your riding!

The key to success: Consistancy! Do it year round so you dont get out of shape.

The Work out consists of:
______Your Body Weight
_______Your Warm Up (jogging, rowing, stairs: anything to break a sweat longer than at least 4:20 mins) :)~
______STRETCH!!!! The most common injuries occur from improper or no strecthing...

Alternate Exercises every week,
Monday: Chest, Triceps, Biceps, ABS
Tuesday: Legs, Calfs, ABS
Wednesday: Back, Shoulders, ABS
Thursday: Legs, Calfs, ABS
Friday: Open to any rountine

Remember that lifting will provide enough for strength, but cardio will aid your heart. Any fast paced activity where you consistanly sweat for over 30 mins, like a spinning class or a XC class will improve your body and have lasting effects for stamina.


Diet is also important...you are what you dont ****


If you are interested in anyother things, please send me a message

[DPancoast]

Personally, i never cared to work my legs!

DPan! What are you saying!



I hear you man. I hear you. I just don't work them because they stay fit pretty easily.

[NorCal420]

thats what i figured...most people avoid the legs cause you can do them improperly, then giving yourself a nasty injury....if you are fit enough to work your legs, then fine...but ill agree that nothing short of snowboarding over 50 days will improve your skills

[DPancoast]

I do a lot of skateboard and wakeboarding so my legs get a workout, especially in winter. You definatly do have to work them, just most people don't

[Burton Doom]

Just make sure you don't work out the same areas 2 days in a row, because you need to give the muscles some time to grow back. If you don't you will just keep ripping your muscles and they won't grow back stronger. You want to work them out every other day so they have time to grow.

[Rider_Canadiana]

Tri O Plex now sells protein cookies if anyone is in to the whole supplement thing...theyre frickin delicious...also I almost destroyed one of my nuts today at the gym by nearly sitting on it..so be ye warned...the gym is a dangerous place

[timbo109]

steroids usually help also

[jakobpaul]

lots of cardio and stretching works good

[tizadxtr]

stretching (although pretty obvious) will make you more flexible, but it helps reduce the risk of injury too when conducting such exercise related to those muscle groups.

a good way to stretch your backside is to lay on the floor, bend your knee towards your chest as far as you can. then pull your leg with your hand on the opposite side towards the side the hand is on (if your doing your left side, pull your leg to the right side etc). make sure you keep your back flat on the ground or you wont feel a stretch, and dont use the inactive hand to balance that will inhibit the stretch.

[toeknee]

yes to a certain degree you may build muscle from cardio. BUT, if you were to weight train for strength, people rarely incorporate too much cardio since they view cardio as being focused on mostly fat loss than muscle building.


cardio helps your endurance.

[Dilly]

Oh man some of u guys have seriously tough workout routines.. I never do so many body parts on one day cause I find I'm usually burnt out. Here is my split:

Day 1 Chest
Dumbell flys for pre-exhaustion
Flat Bench +drop
Dumbell Bench +drop
Smith machine Bench +drop
Cable cross over
Calves, Abs

Day 2 Arms - These vary SOOO much that its basically anything I feel like doing but involve usually the following
Bicep curls with olympus bar (hurts wrists)
Curls with easy-curl bars
Isolation curls
Close grip bench press (THE BEST exercise for budiling tricep mass)
skull crushers
pushdowns

Day 3 Legs
Squat
Leg extensions - I have a really hard ass routine with these.. try it out sometime- put a light weight that you can do 12 easily, add 60 points and do 6 then add enough weight so that you can BARELY do 2. On these 2, always pause at the top, then drop weight down to what you started with an push out 20... repeat x 3
Leg curls
Calves, Abs(extensive)

Day 4 break
Day 5 Back
Deadlift
Bent over rows
Lat pulldowns
This may seem like a weak day but with the amount of deadlifting you are doing it is one hell of a workout

Day 6 Shoulders
Seated military press
Military press with easy-curl bar with your arms pointed out
Arnolds
Laterals
Calvs, Abs

Day 7 rest

I always try to mix it up.. you want your muscles to grow and not just get used to a certain routine. Also, I am a huge huge huge fan of drop setting. Muscles grow when you work them to exhaustion, are your muscles exhausted when you can't bench 250? nope, they are exhausted when you can't bench 100, you may look like a ***** when you're barely pushing up 1plate but who cares it feels damn good.

[snowboarding_bear]

wtf is a drop?
you mean burnouts?
like...put a lot of weight on do 10reps n have someone take a little off do 10 more reps n so on and so forth without stopping and then when you get the bar do that 20 times?

[Moocher_88]

Quick question.

WHen bench pressing where should I "Feel the burn" I always feel like i'm doing em wrong reguardless of constant research of the right way to do em

btw lol forgot to say I am using dumbells