Hey, this is my first blog post and I know there are lots of people on TL who are pretty knowledgeable regarding putting on some muscle so I was hoping somebody could give me some information about this.
Right now I am pretty thin, about 135lb, but I'm 6 feet and I really want to put on some muscle fast.
There is a gym close to my house and I was going to sign up there, but it seems that I won't have any time. I basically have 3 hours free weekday after I come back from work and before I have to go to sleep. So I guess I can give 0.5-1 hour each day if necessary to work out or do whatever. Right now I am just doing bicep curls and push-ups, I have 20lb free weights and Its hard for me to even do more than 15 in one rep, so I am pretty weak I guess. I also am trying to take some protein shakes, but the thing is that I have been doing something like this for a while, and haven't seen any real good results. I was reading another similar blog post, and there were lots of ppl saying that you should focus on "core" exercises. I'm not sure exactly what this means (other than working out your core) because I want to get bigger arm/chest muscles mainly.
So, I was wondering if anybody can recommend exercises which I can do without weights, or with my small freeweights which I have right now.
With regards to my diet, after reading a bit I figure I'll go and get some tuna and eat a lot of that, as well as cottage cheese, and maybe continue to take the protein shakes. How often should I be taking protein shakes?
an hour is definitely enough time to go to the gym.
honestly, 135 is skinny as a twig, so you just need to eat a shitload and do a decent amount of work. Go for a caloric surpus... you've gotta find out what you need per day to maintain weight (googl a basal metabolic rate calc) and add about 500 more calories on top of that.
Eat a ton of fish and chicken primarily, and im sure you can sneak in some red meat since you're skinny already. Lots of healthy carbs (google this, but basically, nothing that was bleached... aka no white breads, only whole grain stuff, and natural carbs like broccoli, etc). Preferably, youve gotta eat this stuff earlier in the day (heavy in the morning, medium at lunch, and a little before and after your workout) so youre not storing it as fat. You also should try to eat 5-6 smaller meals a day, instead of 2-3 normal ones.
As for actual workouts, chekc out bodybuilding.com for different ones. but basic stuff is try to stick to one muscle group per day, and make sure to get ample rest. 7 days of workouts is gonna burn you out and injure you. Don't neglect body parts either and stretch.
a schedule should go something like this... monday: back Tues: legs wed: abs, core and cardio thurs: chest fri: arms and shoulders
some people like to not even isolate their arms, since you get a lot of secondary work on your bi's with back work outs, and tris with chest. It's really optional.
oh, and nuts are very good too as well. they basically cover your fat intake that you need for the day (you need to get SOME) and have a lot of protein.
as for protein shakes, I used to base it off of what I was eating for the day. 2-3 shakes is usually good. I used to take one in the morning to get a little boost in muscle repair, one about an hour before the workout, and one right after (you also need a little carbs here to replace lost glucegen I believe. again, double check this)
i think half an hour workout is fine, just lift heavy and go all out. I suggest getting a chin up bar for use at home. the are tons of pull up variations, and another thing you can do is find a park and do some thug workout.
if you could only do one excercise, squats are the best. you can do dumbbell squats holding 20lbs in each arm tho it will probably be too easy so u can maybe do them one legged.
people usually take shakes before and after workouts, but i think u should just focus on getting enough calories instead of just loading up on protein, u wont gain anything if your body is calorie deficient.
the other reason why I didn't want to go to the gym close to my place is because its kinda expensive for me (I'm a poor university student right now, and I'm trying to save whatever I can to put towards a car). Would it really be that much more beneficial if I actually go to the gym instead of trying to work out at home?
Also, how come people keep saying squats are the best exercise? Its strange because it seems that it works out the lower body muscles and I was more interested in mainly building upper body muscle.
On May 15 2008 23:21 himurakenshin wrote: thanks for all the replies guys,
the other reason why I didn't want to go to the gym close to my place is because its kinda expensive for me (I'm a poor university student right now, and I'm trying to save whatever I can to put towards a car). Would it really be that much more beneficial if I actually go to the gym instead of trying to work out at home?
Also, how come people keep saying squats are the best exercise? Its strange because it seems that it works out the lower body muscles and I was more interested in mainly building upper body muscle.
Well the gym environment helps keep you motivated, which is probably the most important part of getting any progress. The other advantage is having spotters and safer equipment when u lift heavy. Otherwise, getting some heavier freeweights and a simple bench is should be all you need if youre working out at home. Lots of people hate all the fancy machines at gyms and swear by free weights.
as for your second question, its generally agreed that compound excercises that work lots of large muscle groups raise your testosterone and growth hormone levels the best, and this will improve the gains of smaller excercises like bicep curls as well. Amoung the compound excercises, squats are the kings.
well..honestly you are real underweight right now. You should just use the 20 pounds of free weight and use some good ole calisthenics which is bodyweight: push ups, sit ups, pull ups, squats, and etc. You should guarantee feel the soreness after a good work out from them. With the 20 pounds of free weights ( 20 pounds of weight for 135 pounder is a good start, in my opinion) just keep pumping as much bicep curl as possible with 3-4 sets. You shouldn't just go out and copy a bodybuilder's workout regiment cause your body will not take it. Just start out slow and work your way up. About the calisthenics, I did boxing for several years and of course did calisthenics, and back then there we used to do a push up workout. Basically you do 21 push up (put a thick dictionary or something under your chest and touch your chest with the dictionary as you go down and go back up until your elbows lock or is straight. That is one push up). Immediately after that 21 push ups, go back onto your two knees and do 21 military press with no weight (Air is your weight, trust me on this it works) Military weight is when you push your hands as far to the ceiling as possible and then back (somewhat like a vertical bench press). After doing 21 military press, immediately go back to doing 20 push ups then 20 military press. Immediately go to 19 push ups and 19 military press and so on and so forth. And when you get to the 5 repetition, do 5 diamond push up rather and instead of doing military press, hold your push up form for 30 seconds. This is where it separates the big dogs with the wannabees in my gym. Do this until the last repetition. In the last repetition, do one diamond push up and hold your push up form for 1 minute. This work is guarantee kick in your nuts for sure. But I highly advise you to start from 15 or something rather than 21 repetition. Guarantee if you keep doing this for several months, when you go gym you'll be doing 180 pound bench press no doubt. Be creative with bodyweight exercises, after all its been proven to work for thousands of years, and hell, the US Army and US Marine Corps still uses them.
People say squats are the best exercise cause it triggers overall body muscle hypertrophy which means it makes the whole body grown. This is believed because as you do squat, your body release various hormones that trigger your body to increase your body mass. Of course, the weight of the squat needs to be real high enough where it feels like your rectum gonna come out of your asshole for these hormones to kick in. But don't worry about that now, just take it step-by-step.
Good luck in your training, and be persistent and never quit. Every man gotta start somewhere.
On May 15 2008 23:21 himurakenshin wrote: Would it really be that much more beneficial if I actually go to the gym instead of trying to work out at home?
I'm not really an expert myself but i would assume it's better to go to a gym but i don't think it's impossible to workout at home.
Have a look at this site, he has some excellent advice and it's all stuff you can do at home.
If you want to put on alot of muscle in short workouts do low reps, so say 5 reps and 3-4 sets, although dont start off with this as you may injure yourself, instead start with 8-12 reps for a month and then move onto the heavy stuff.
Depending on how many times a week you go should be how you do your muscle on certain days. if your going three times a week i suggest doing chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders/legs, if your going 5 times a week you can do one each day, maybe put 2 together.
Alternative if you dont want to go to gym, pushups, chinups, crunches and running will do your whole body just about. Before you go to the gym i suggest you do alot of research though and start off slowly, dont just put max weight on otherwise youll hurt yourself espeically if youve never done it before. though i must warn you, if you dont go to the gym youll fine it VERY hard to get motivated especially without a partner. Theres also no need for protien shakes, just eat some eggs or fish/meat/tuna after your gym workout and youll be fine.
thanks again, I'll try what you guys said and definitely increase my protein intake. I don't think I have to worry about being motivated because I am generally a pretty determined person once I set my min d on something; the only thing is that I was spending some time on working out before, but I wasn't getting a lot of results, just marginal improvements.
Another question; should I be doing the exercises everyday? (I definitely can do it if it would speed up things, because I have the determination, just wondering it it would be beneficial/detrimental) Also, I tend to work out before I go to sleep, is this alright?
Jibba: Yeah i'm not really interested in being the "big" type, but more tone like a karate guy or something
On May 15 2008 23:21 himurakenshin wrote: thanks for all the replies guys,
the other reason why I didn't want to go to the gym close to my place is because its kinda expensive for me (I'm a poor university student right now, and I'm trying to save whatever I can to put towards a car). Would it really be that much more beneficial if I actually go to the gym instead of trying to work out at home?
Also, how come people keep saying squats are the best exercise? Its strange because it seems that it works out the lower body muscles and I was more interested in mainly building upper body muscle.
yes, definitely. youll have access to much more stuff. its a bitch trying to do it with stuff around your home, plus, as said before, motivation factor.
squats are a compound exercise. quads (hammys too a little) and a little bit of your lower back. PRACTICE FORM ON IT THOUGH. I totally raped my back a month ago doing them and deadlifts and it still hurts.
Another question; should I be doing the exercises everyday? (I definitely can do it if it would speed up things, because I have the determination, just wondering it it would be beneficial/detrimental) Also, I tend to work out before I go to sleep, is this alright?
Jibba: Yeah i'm not really interested in being the "big" type, but more tone like a karate guy or something
No. You'll burn out. Read what I read at first. 1-2 rest days per week. If you think you can go 7 days, chances are your workouts are just really weak.
And yeah, jibba is right. Youll get thicker, but youre just naturally lean
On May 16 2008 00:09 himurakenshin wrote: thanks again, I'll try what you guys said and definitely increase my protein intake. I don't think I have to worry about being motivated because I am generally a pretty determined person once I set my min d on something; the only thing is that I was spending some time on working out before, but I wasn't getting a lot of results, just marginal improvements.
Another question; should I be doing the exercises everyday? (I definitely can do it if it would speed up things, because I have the determination, just wondering it it would be beneficial/detrimental) Also, I tend to work out before I go to sleep, is this alright?
Jibba: Yeah i'm not really interested in being the "big" type, but more tone like a karate guy or something
your previous marginal improvements were most likely due to not getting enough calories.
no you should not work out the same muscles everyday. to be safe, if they are sore that means they pobably have not recovered yet so dont work them out. in a way recovery is more important than the actual break down because thats when the muscles actually "grow".
you can work out before you sleep, but you might have difficulty sleeping when youre pumped.
pushups (I can already do around 30 or so) squats situps
and then eat lots tuna, eggs, and some cottage cheese
I won't focus on my arms for a while, and try and improve my "core". I'll also try and drink a protein shake now and then.
Hopefully I will notice more of an improvement by the end of the month, compared to before. I'll try and work out everyday, but different sections maybe.
If at the end of the month, or beginning of next month, I feel like I'm really going somewhere with this, maybe I'll try and get the cash together and get a gym membership.
www.bodybuilding.com <-- good site for beginners trying to gain mass, look for some articles on hardgainers, seeing that ur 6 feet tall and only 135 im guessing u have a rediculously high metabolism
I started eating properly and working out last year and i've i went from 160 --> 180 in a year. Some tips i can give is make sure u eat and eat and eat, eat about 6 meals a day, and makre sure ur net calorie intake is about 2500 --> 3000 calories a day, make ur carb protein fat ratio about 50 - 30 - 20. Good luck, and remember don't think that supplements are the key to gaining mass, diet and working out are key.
And on your work out, you relaly gotta get to a gym and lift heavy, no way your gonna bulk up the way u want while just curling... go to the website i mentioned and earch for "starting strength by mark rippetoe or something like that good begining workkout goodluck
On May 16 2008 02:47 auto. wrote: www.bodybuilding.com <-- good site for beginners trying to gain mass, look for some articles on hardgainers, seeing that ur 6 feet tall and only 135 im guessing u have a rediculously high metabolism
I started eating properly and working out last year and i've i went from 160 --> 180 in a year. Some tips i can give is make sure u eat and eat and eat, eat about 6 meals a day, and makre sure ur net calorie intake is about 2500 --> 3000 calories a day, make ur carb protein fat ratio about 50 - 30 - 20. Good luck, and remember don't think that supplements are the key to gaining mass, diet and working out are key.
And on your work out, you relaly gotta get to a gym and lift heavy, no way your gonna bulk up the way u want while just curling... go to the website i mentioned and earch for "starting strength by mark rippetoe or something like that good begining workkout goodluck
Yeah i think I have a really high metabolism because I used to eat really bad junk food like Burger King and McD for like 6 months straight and I didn't gain any weight whatsoever. My body fat percentage is always at around 6-8%. Never increases regardless of what I eat.
On May 16 2008 02:42 himurakenshin wrote: alright what I think i'm gonna do is
pushups (I can already do around 30 or so) squats situps
and then eat lots tuna, eggs, and some cottage cheese
I won't focus on my arms for a while, and try and improve my "core". I'll also try and drink a protein shake now and then.
Hopefully I will notice more of an improvement by the end of the month, compared to before. I'll try and work out everyday, but different sections maybe.
If at the end of the month, or beginning of next month, I feel like I'm really going somewhere with this, maybe I'll try and get the cash together and get a gym membership.
Am I missing something?
Carbs...
The squats they're talking about are with large weights. And you really need to find an organized way to work your muscles, so you know what groups you're hitting and when.
I would not do squats, being as skinny as you are they are probably going to hurt your neck/back/wherever you place them. You're gonna want some muscle up there first.
I would focus on calisthenics for a while. Try starting with burpees, they should put muscle all over your body.
If I was you I wouldn't focus on trying to become too big. Being as lean as you are could be an advantage, if you keep yourself lean and gain only maybe 20lbs of muscle you could turn your body into a crazily efficient machine.
and with calisthenics you don't need a gym membership.
P.S: function > form any day. who gives a crap if your muscles are big if they serve no point whatsoever.
but still - if you absolutely do want to become big, then just drink a half-gallon of whole milk a day. there is no way u won't get bigger if you do that on top of your normal diet.
(eggs, boiled or raw is a healthier choice that would also work and is easy - and I mean a ton, like 10-15 of them a day)
You can, but I'm not sure how much it'll help. Walking lunges would probably be better with a lighter weight like that.
I really think you should read a full guide on how to eat/get in shape. It seems like you're just picking up bits and pieces but still missing the grand scheme of what you should be doing. You're not going to be able to eat 3,000 calories off of tuna, eggs, cottage cheese and protein shakes. You really need a good full diet, and a range of exercises that work your back/chest/legs.
EPT
