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Weight Lifting

3K views 25 replies 5 participants last post by  zoebird 
#1 ·
Hiya , I have recently been lifting some weights when im bored, which actually happens everynight after work. so what i lift right now is usually 60 reps on both arms (arm curls) and 60 on both arm "pulling the weight up so elbow is at kneck level" , whatever thats called. i think I have 15 pounds on there. and 60 crunches. how long does it really take to build the muscle ? and is there anything i can do to speed it up ? thanks for the inf0
 
#2 ·
To build muscle faster, use higher weight and fewer reps. Muscles grow in response to loads that are placed on them. The greater the load, the greater the response. What you're doing is great for muscle tone, but not for building mass.

Don't forget to warm up before lifting heavy weights, though.
 
#3 ·
awsome, thats what i wanted to hear


why is it that people always buy those high protein drinks and weightgain type products. what do those do ? i am not interested in using them because they seem nasty to me. i mean i get enough protein in my diet, but when im lifting do i gotta get more ?
 
#4 ·
You will need more calories, possibly a bit more protein than you're currently getting, but your body will be begging you for those things as it attempts to build enough muscle mass to handle the weight you loading on it.

If you didn't consume enough calories (even protein), you wouldn't have enough nutrients to feed those growing muscles. You'd feel weak and probably lose interest in weight lifting.

But you'll probably notice that your metabolism speeds up as you get into the program. You can satisfy your body's needs by listening to it and adjusting your caloric intake appropriately.

If you find it difficult to meet your body's caloric needs, and feel the need to add more protein to your diet, then you might consider all those expensive products, because liquid products can be high-calorie without being too filling.

When in a regular weightlifting routine, I tend to start my day off with a fruit smoothie that also contains a full serving of vegan protein powder and milled flaxseed. Those babies are high-calorie, low-fat, and chock full of nutrition.

Then have healthy snacks around meals throughout the day, because you may notice that three meals a day is no longer enough. I tend to require a mid-morning snack, like another piece of fruit or some veggies, like carrot sticks. Between lunch and dinner I'll have more of the above, and/or a Luna Bar. Anything in that vein will do. It's best not to eat again after dinner but, if you're really, really hungry, have yourself a healthy snack, like tofu pudding (just had some last night -- good stuff!). Having soy milk handy throughout the day is good, too, but water should be your primary source of fluids, and your body will be begging for more of that, too.

Have fun!
 
#5 ·
If you're looking to bulk up you want about one gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. If you use pounds divide your weight by 2.2 and that's how many kg you weigh.

Protein shakes are good for right after a hard workout to replenish muscles. I usually exercise, almost immediately drink a shake then eat a nutritious meal with complex carbs and more protein within 90 minutes of my workout.

You might want to research some supplements such as glutamine or, if you're really looking to bulk up check out creatine.

But I can't urge strongly enough to do some research and find out if you really want to start a creatine cycle.

Lots of people give lots of conflicting advice about exercise and I'm sure they all make what they say work for themselves, but what works for you may be very individual so try to keep switching up your routine every few months or whenever and find what works for you.

I hope that helped even a bit,

rigmarole
 
#6 ·
Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the creatine, personally. Stick with the other advice, though. The key to building mass is working out hard, then feeding your muscles enough of the good stuff shortly after the workout so they can repair themselves and prep for the next round!
 
#7 ·
protein shakes taste like ass and they have all kinds of chemicals. definatly to build mass you need to eat. also your muscles will not grow if you overtrain. your muscles grow when they are repairing themselves not when you are lifting the weights. if you are a beginer i would do your weights one day and rest the next. you may not want to take work out advice from a chick, but i know these things from expirence. im not bulky at all im 5'10" and 139 lbs i just like the look of a LITTLE bit of muscle on myself
 
#10 ·
sounds like you need more weight on there. If you can't, try doing the exercies slower and more controlled, especially on the down movement, so that you can only do 6 - 12 reps per set. Some workouts you might squeeze the muscle at the peak of the movement. Make sure you have good form which basically means keep your body as still as possible to isolate ALL movement to the muscles you want to work. This will strengthen your stablizer muscles and make your workouts more efficient.

Don't forget to breath. VERY IMPORTANT

You also probably don't want to exercise any muscle that's still 'hurting'(though that's the wrong word, you don't really want to hurt) from the last workout.
 
#12 ·
If you want to build muscle fast, don't repeat the same exercises everday. This tears the muscle over and over and over again and never gives it a chance to rebuild. I have an upper body routine and a lower body routine that I alternate days with, and since I have started doing that, I have seen some major leaps in my muscle, strengthwise...I don't workout for mass, so I haven't seen TOO much growth...but strength and definition, definatley. I went up 50 pounds on the benchpress in 18 weeks, which doesn't sound like a lot, but hey, I am a girl, and its a gradual thing.
So don't do those same exercises everyday, or you can damage those muscles!!!

lovenlight,

linz
 
#13 ·
Rainbowmoon is right, don't do the same routine every day, but give yourself a day or two of rest to give those specific muscles time to rebuild.

When I was training regularly (read that when I was younger and my tendons and ligaments weren't worn out and easily torn like they are now
) I supplemented my diet with the soy protein powder made into shakes. You're right, it's nasty but I could gulp it down and could really notice a difference in muscle growth.

Add more weight, fewer reps, and take a break for a day or two if you want to see more significant progress . . .
 
#14 ·
oh man, more then 25. **** the only way i can go higher is if i tie paint cans on to the lil'bar. i can only go up to 30. and thats enough for me just startin off. i dont really have a plan epski, i just go 'atter , i guess i could develop a plan to follow. i know about breathing.
 
#15 ·
we all give advise, but don't let yourself feel overwhelmed. If what you're doing feels right for you, either just for now or long term, then keep at it. You probably already know that, but I thought I'd say it anyway. As long as you eat right and exercise most days a week you'll be fine. What you should do in terms of exercise totally depends on your desired results, and those desired results will almost undoubtedly change with time.

later

rigmarole
 
#17 ·
with the exercises that you're doing, you will not gain the strength and muscle mass that you need, and you may not even gain what you want. The two exercises that you are doing are not compound exercises, which will build functional muscle and strength.

your two exercises will only lead to odd, unbalanced muscle development in one area of your body: biceps and upper back. And even then, it may not do it effectively--the upright row is a shoulder injury waiting to happen!

In order to gain functional strength (and thus muscle mass) is to do compound exercises. Since you like to do three exercises in the gym, i recommend these two as your top choices:

1. dead lift (old school dead lift, not straight legged dead lift) and

2. chin ups

then, follow with your crunches. add weight to your crunches as well, to build more muscle in the abdominal area.

the best four are:

1 dead lifts and chins

2. squats and dips

Do a high weight for about 10 to 12 reps, about 3 sets (one warm up with about 1/2 the weight, at 6 or so reps, followed by two sets at the full weight).

you'll have more muscle balance, you'll be working out your whole body with weights to give you an overall, muscular look, rather than working the "glam muscles" (biceps, shoulders, chest) and looking odd because you have no leg development or back development. 70% of our muscle is in our back, hips, and legs--you should work them!

Also, regarding creatine. I would not take the supplement (i don't know about the origins), but it does exist naturally in meat. It is said that it aids in the energy producing process (ATP cycle), which gives one more stamina and strength, allowing them to lift more weight and do more cardio, which leads to more muscle mass and fat loss (via cardio). Supposedly, one looks both bigger and leaner with creatine.

old school weight lifters/body builders didn't know about it per se, but creatine is abundant in fish and red meats particularly. This is one of the reasons why they were advocates of meat in the diets (Old school diets tended to be lean meats, vegetables, moderate complex carbs, whole food diets)--not only for the protien but also for the naturally occuring hormones that promoted muscle growth. The omnivorous diet is a good diet for a serious lifter to have--simply because of the concentrated amounts of protien and the added benefit of muscle building nturients and hormones.

This doesn't mean that you absolutely must eat meat in order to be a successful body builder/muscle builder. it just means that you may need to find ways of getting more protien and other nutrients through various supplementation (vitamins and the like). You may not--i don't know your goals, and i don't know your bodily needs either. Everyone is a bit different--and there are some body builders out there who are fabulous and vegetarian.

Also, hardgainer.com is a great site for information on functional training, and they have links to others. They have a nice community at the Round Table who can help you out with work out planning, form and technique, nutrition (though most of it is omni, there are a few guys on there who are capable of making it work for anyone, look particularly for articles and things by dave maurice). Don't be turned off by the omnivores, they are a good community for assistance in this regard.

Have fun!
 
#19 ·
blah. all this leads me to belive i have to go to a gym to get the "fit" look . i have a 1.5 foot bar with ends on it, wich when maxed only holds 30 pounds. so i dont really see how i can make it work so i dont look "odd" . really i wanna be able to pick up the gas fuel'd generator at work and be able to walk with it. i dont wanna bench press 250 pounds or anything. should i even bother if im not going to a gym?
 
#20 ·
Hey, don't listen to that guy. He's right, but there's a million and one different things that people will tellyou is the right way. And they're all the right way, well alot of them anyway. Just keep exercising, whether that's at a gym doing cleans and squat thrusts or using a dumbell in front of a mirror in your den. If you exercise efficiently most days a week you should be alright. Obviously the more you do the better off you'll be, but whatever. Do what you can. Maybe you'll be so impressed with the results you get from the dumbell that you'll decide to get a bench and bar, or to join a gym, or just to keep with the original program.

Just exercise. Now and forever.

rigmarole
 
#21 ·
You might be able to find a used weight set pretty cheap if you know where to look in your area. People are always trying to unload stuff like that. I personally find working out worth the effort. It makes me feel good.

You don't have to get big. If you want to pick up a gas fueled generator and walk with it... well, I guess I'd have to know how heavy that is!
 
#22 ·
I'm thinking of picking up some free weights this week. I am very muscular ( not scarey bodybuilder muscular though ) , but I want my arms a little more defined ( more specifically, the underside of my arms ). I have been doing isometrics with good results, except for that trouble spot. Any advice? I don't want to have the flabby arms that plague our family's women!
 
#23 ·
if you want to be able to pick up a gas fueled generator at work and walk with it, then there are two exercises that i recommend:

1 dead lift--so that you're lifting it up from the ground properly using your leg strength instead of your arms and upper back (which will throw out your lower back).

2. farmers walk, which works arm, shoulder, and grip strength.

you can do these at home with your bar, really. Dead lift and chin ups you can do at home too--as long as you have some sort of hanging bar somewhere that can support your weight.

anyway, using your home bar for deadlifts is fine. i can dead lift over my body weight (currently 128.5 is body weight, dead lift is at 135--and it's a functional movement that helps me transfer my clients from their wheel chairs to the floor so that we can do yoga more comfortably).

farmer's walk is rather simple. get something as heavy as you can find. put one in each hand, and carry it around. just walk with it, holding good posture, and having the elbows bent a bit to incorproate the arms.

Even with the exercises that you wrote above--total voodoo. they're not going to give you what you even say you need--the ability to pick up a generator and walk with it.

I've carried a 135 lb person up a flight of stairs. Is that as much as a generator?

and poor me. a 128.5 lb ovo vegetarian girl.

gee, i probably don't know crap about lifting. or fitness. or diet. or anything else.

how could i?

i've only been doing it for 12 years.
 
#24 ·
punk:

the muscles that you're talking about specifically are the triceps. these are the two best exercises for this movement:

1. bench press

2. close grip bench press.

i highly recommend close grip bench press. using similar to bench press form, but with, obviously a closer grip--14 inches between hands for a female (on average) and 16 for a male (on average). Either way, the hands are only as far apart as your chest is wide.

this also works other major muscle groups, you'll find all sorts of great definition from it, but it particularly hits the triceps. I enjoyed my cycle in it.


also, if you practice yoga, warrior II is great, as is the sequence of chatarunga dandhasana, upward facing dog (urdhva muka svanasana) and downard facing dog (adho muka svanasana).
 
#26 ·
well, i don't know how advanced your practice is, but you may also be interested in bakasana (crow/crane pose), sirsasana II (tripod headstand), and various fore arm balances are nice too.

i highly recommend this arm sequence which really gets me every time:

plank pose

chatarunga dandhasana (low push up--use good form!)

Then:

inhale: up dog

exhale: chatarunga

inhale up dog

exhale chatarunga

Do 5 breaths.

on the sixth inhale up dog, do downward dog on the exhale.

then, inhale going toward dolphin pose.

keeping the hands shoulder distance apart, lower the elbows (bending them down toward the floor), hovering two inches above the floor. make sure that they don't bend out--you want them to bend down, keeping forearms parallel to the floor, in a line with shoulders and wrists!

then, hold for a few breaths, lower the elbows to the floor. HOld similar to down dog for a few breaths, then inhale raise up about 2 inches from the floor (raise elbows) hold for a few, then raise to down dog.

repeat this say three or four times--as many as five or six times if you'd like.

you'll really really really feel your triceps after this sequence!
 
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