stregnth vs size?

[▼)Ñ╩fZΣµ& 10+ year member]

oh man! 23 reps for 13 sets would take a long time!, wuldnt a plan costing 29.95 be more time efficient?

im lifting 3-4 sets and last set to failure, rarely do i feel shit in shoulders/bicepts and kinda back.. only thing that really hits me is chest and legs

 

[mxer69 10+ year member]

Like someone said before, switch to a strict 5x5 and focus on compound movements. You should do a major muscle group each day. If you're not sore in that muscle group afterwords, you didn't work hard enough. You should be fighting for the last reps to get them up preferably without your spotter jumping in of course..

Other than that just add a 50 gram whey shake in twice a day and I'd recommend taking Creatine... it's the only thing that has been PROVEN to actually assist in gaining muscle and bulking. The rest is all marketing bullshit.

BTW, NO is bullshit.. just caffeine and crap ingredients. Stop wasting your money.

 

[mxer69 10+ year member]

Like someone said before, switch to a strict 5x5 and focus on compound movements. You should do a major muscle group each day. If you're not sore in that muscle group afterwords, you didn't work hard enough. You should be fighting for the last reps to get them up preferably without your spotter jumping in of course..

Other than that just add a 50 gram whey shake in twice a day and I'd recommend taking Creatine... it's the only thing that has been PROVEN to actually assist in gaining muscle and bulking. The rest is all marketing bullshit.

BTW, NO is bullshit.. just caffeine and crap ingredients. Stop wasting your money.

 

[StickyFingaz 10+ year member]

If you're not sore in that muscle group afterwords, you didn't work hard enough. You should be fighting for the last reps to get them up preferably without your spotter jumping in of course..

Muscle soreness is not a good indication of proper muscle fatiuge. After time you will experience less lactic acid burn during workouts, but this doesn't mean that your muscle hasn't been worked to fatiuge. DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) will also go away in time as your muscles become used to the workouts and muscle rebulding process.

 

[Tw1st3d13 10+ year member]

You want your reps to be 6-7 for straight mass in 3 months i started doing 150lbs x 5 reps x 4 sets and now im doing 225x 6 x 6 and my supplements are SuperPump 250 and Xtend by scivation if your looking for extra weight I woild order SizeOn by Gaspari and Muscle Milk by Cytosport make sure you are always benching properly it is ok to arch your back and don't forget inclines that is for your upper chest you need to keep the happy medium their you don't want triangular pecs hahaha and fawk the GNC store buy from nutraplanet.com they are normally 30%-75% off GNC prices and if you spend more then $150 type in "Free samples Please!" on your order and you might get lucky but If you need help I will help you - P.S sorry for the run on sentence I=Fail

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

been goin for the last year off and on, and last 3 weeks consistently.. 

i dont feel any soreness after lifting now.. help lol

Then you're doing it wrong. You've only been consistent for 3 weeks, then you're just beginning. You have to work harder, everyday. Aim for a 1 year plan, then another year, etc. Increase weights and work more muscle groups. Low reps, high weight. Once a week you should focus on breaking your previous max weight records for each muscle group. Throw a 25 lb on your back while doing thrusts. Work up to 35 lbs, then 45 lbs. Once a month do a "burn" of half your max weight and as many reps as you can. Break and repeat 3 times. It should "burn". This actually causes slight damage, very sore and builds mass to rebuild. No more than once a month. Stretch as warm up and cool down.

Focus on free wieghts and isometrics. Stay away from nautalis, treadmills, stairmaster, bike, etc.

Eat fresh fruits, veggies, good cuts of beef, fish, etc. Sushi, beans, steak, rice, pasta, veggies, eggs, real fruit juices and whole grain breads. Fresh foods should be cooked and processed as little as possible. Raw foods is best. Eat what the hippies eat at the health food store/co-op do, just eat 3-4 times as much as they do. Drink lots of water. Stay away from fried foods, fat, pork and empty calories or processed foods like sugar, breaded deep fried foods, cream sauces, gravies, soda's, etc.

I agree with L7runner, supplements and sport drinks are BS marketing and a waste of money and attention. Hard work and good food will get you where you need to be. There is nothing in those products you need that you can't get from a bowl of beans and rice and some fresh fruit.

 

[▼)Ñ╩fZΣµ& 10+ year member]

word. il start doin 5x5, already doin compound lifts, but have to isolate some, like shoulders and tri/bi to get extra in

 

[cotjones 10+ year member]

Best system for strength (for me) seems to be 3 sets of 8 with high steps up to failure on heavy days. (I aim to fail the last rep only) And 5 sets of 5 on comfortable weight (but still like 2 or 3 reps from failure on the last set) on light days. I also concentrate on a quick jerky movement On the light days, and a slow steady movement on heavy days.

 

[Rmsanger 10+ year member]

hmm... I've been hitting the gym for about 6 months straight now.. I'm down about 35 pounds and have increased my overall strength (bench 170 -> 225) and such. I'm starting to hit a wall where my stepups in weight over time are becoming really slow. Probably need to take some suggestions here on the whey/creatine supplements to get stronger.

Not quite sure on the statement "avoid the treadmill/nautilis machines". I usually start every workout with an 18 min 2 mile run and 20 min on the Natulis doing 2 miles. It tends to give me enough of a solid cardio workout (170 bpm+ for 20+ min) and burn the calories I need but still allowing me to build muscle. I usually try to get in the gym 4 times / week for 2 hours:

1 day legs

1 day shoulders/back

1 day bi/tris

1 day chest

On off days I'll do a couple 2 mile runs outdoors and take 1 day off completely.

 

[l7runner 10+ year member]

hmm... I've been hitting the gym for about 6 months straight now.. I'm down about 35 pounds and have increased my overall strength (bench 170 -> 225) and such. I'm starting to hit a wall where my stepups in weight over time are becoming really slow. Probably need to take some suggestions here on the whey/creatine supplements to get stronger.
Not quite sure on the statement "avoid the treadmill/nautilis machines". I usually start every workout with an 18 min 2 mile run and 20 min on the Natulis doing 2 miles. It tends to give me enough of a solid cardio workout (170 bpm+ for 20+ min) and burn the calories I need but still allowing me to build muscle. I usually try to get in the gym 4 times / week for 2 hours:

1 day legs

1 day shoulders/back

1 day bi/tris

1 day chest

On off days I'll do a couple 2 mile runs outdoors and take 1 day off completely.

I would try and do the cardio after your lifting session. It will give you a bit more energy to lift more. If you want to continue increasing your max lifts you just have to keep adding weight. Every week add a bit of weight to the bar, even if it is only 2.5 lbs. Try doing heavy triples and doubles, and maybe even negatives with more weight that you can lift. This will get your body used to lifting heavier weights.

Whey will help supplement your protein intake if you are having trouble getting enough through your diet. Creatine will give you a bit more strength for your workouts and help to hydrate your muscles. If you try it stick with monohydrate, the majority of the other forms have been proven to be less effective yet cost more.

It also depends on your workout schedule, try to do heavy compound movements and don't waste your time on specific isolation movements unless you have an imbalance.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

hmm... I've been hitting the gym for about 6 months straight now.. I'm down about 35 pounds and have increased my overall strength (bench 170 -> 225) and such. I'm starting to hit a wall where my stepups in weight over time are becoming really slow. Probably need to take some suggestions here on the whey/creatine supplements to get stronger.
Not quite sure on the statement "avoid the treadmill/nautilis machines". I usually start every workout with an 18 min 2 mile run and 20 min on the Natulis doing 2 miles. It tends to give me enough of a solid cardio workout (170 bpm+ for 20+ min) and burn the calories I need but still allowing me to build muscle. I usually try to get in the gym 4 times / week for 2 hours:

1 day legs

1 day shoulders/back

1 day bi/tris

1 day chest

On off days I'll do a couple 2 mile runs outdoors and take 1 day off completely.

It sounds like your on a very different type of regimen that the OP. You're trying to lose weight and general fitness. That's not what he wants, he just wants size/strength/mass, . He should avoid endurance type exercises that tend to tone down muscles. What you're doing is great if you want to lose weight and build general fitness, but if your already fit and just want to build size/mass, you must avoid those types exercises or they will actually have a slimming effect and less energy for lifting. That's the point of different types of routines for different goals. It just depends on what you're trying to achieve. Do you want the body of a long distance runner, body builder, or something in between? Very different routines to achieve different goals. If you say you want to look like Arnold and run like a nigerian it's not going to happen.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

If your main goal is to lose weight, then keep running. If your main goal is to "get big", stop running and just lift.

 

[timaishu 10+ year member]

I would run or do cardio type exercise on a non lifting day. That way you can devote all your energy to both versus doing cardio before lifting.

 

[Flastrongman 10+ year member]

Some good advice in this thread and also some very misinformed/ inexperienced people. There is only so much you can learn from the internet. It sounds like you need some hands on training. If you can't get help at your gym than try a different one. If you want real size you need to be shown the way. Find a bodybuilder and ask for some advice. Find a powerlifter and ask how to properly squat/bench/deadlift. This will get you wayyyyy farther than you could do on your own. After you have learned some basics and put on a little size look up a Strongman and you'll find out what a REAL workout is. But I have only seen you post about your arms and shoulders so you probably will never get to the level you want. If you want real size you need to work LEGS LEGS LEGS. Squat and deadlift. There has been good advice on diet. Don't waste money on supplements. Protein shakes are ok but nothing beats good old real food. Lots of red meat! As far as cardio, nothing wrong with a reasonable amount. 20min 3 times a week is plenty. But don't do your cardio on the same day as a heavy lifting day. Hope this helps, and please don't give advice if you have very little experience.

Former FL strongman winner.

 

[iagrdshaka 5,000+ posts]

Whey Protein is about the only legal supplement you should be taking

Creatine and Glutamine are both highly overrated, give a nice placebo effect to new lifters, but won't be giving you constant strength and muscle gains over the next couple years if you continue lifting. Plus Creatine may increase the conversion of testosterone to DHT during workouts, which speeds up male pattern baldness.

Three Weeks of Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation Affects... : Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine