Hey Dudes (men)

BEFORE

What workouts, diet plans, etc are ya doing?

I am starting light lifting and running on a treadmill. Might add in biking. I am just trying to follow MFP and hope I get my daily allowances.

BEFORE

What workouts, diet plans, etc are ya doing?

I am starting light lifting and running on a treadmill. Might add in biking. I am just trying to follow MFP and hope I get my daily allowances.

rwalden628

I know you weren't talking to me, but I love your profile pic! ha!

BEFORE

I know you weren't talking to me, but I love your profile pic! ha!

Thanks, I wish I was built like him. My wife gets weak in the knees when he smiles.

Emdicio

...Thanks, I wish I was built like him. My wife gets weak in the knees when he smiles.

Do what I do - suggest that you recently read that he and his male partner were very happy together and she has the wrong equipment! I do this with my 24y/o step daughter (she nuts about Vin Diesel) and she gets soooooo pissed (in a good way)! It's evil fun! :bigsmile:

As for workouts, I've been on and off doing the treadmill and a dumbbell lifting program for 6 weeks now, not really very committed. I have P90 Master coming on Wednesday and am hoping to start doing it 6-days/week next Monday. Everyone seems to love the program and I think the variety will appeal to me. Aside from that, playing a little guitar (poorly) and spinning wrenches on the weekends is my only regular "exercise". I really need to start doing something interesting every day.

Good luck to you......Mike

mjfer123

My diet is MFP basically, I just stay within my allowances (mostly)
other than that, I have an arms/legs/cardio work out schedule that I adhere to 5 days a week.
I still do cardio on all days, but my cardio day is a longer cardio work out.
I either run outside on the track, or on an elliptical.
I do curls and lifts and all that stuff.
Lunges, squats etc.
Nothing unique really.
Sometimes I'll read in Mens Health different exercises that I try and fit in at the end of a work out if I have time.

BEFORE

My diet is MFP basically, I just stay within my allowances (mostly)
other than that, I have an arms/legs/cardio work out schedule that I adhere to 5 days a week.
I still do cardio on all days, but my cardio day is a longer cardio work out.
I either run outside on the track, or on an elliptical.
I do curls and lifts and all that stuff.
Lunges, squats etc.
Nothing unique really.
Sometimes I'll read in Mens Health different exercises that I try and fit in at the end of a work out if I have time.

What kind of cardio?

musclebuilder

if you want to build muscle and achieve your goals you are going to have to step it up from your current routine. Lets start with the training. you want to train every body part. chest, legs, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, abs, and calves. train no less then4 or 5 days a week. each day you train a different body part. for example, monday legs, tuesday chest, wednsday back, thursday shoulders, friday arms. 3 to 5 exercises per body part. 3 sets. rep ranges should be in the 8 to 10 rep range other then your first set, warm up 12-15 reps. 8-10 rep range is ideal for building muscle mass. you can split your weekly routine up to train 5 days straight, 3 days on, one day off, two days on, one day off and repeat. train 45M to an hour a day topps. keep your rest between sets moderate. a minute or so. muscle and fitness is a magazine I would recommend you subscribe to. It can teach you alot about correct form with exercise, diet and alot more. great for a novice lifter.

if you are trying to lose weight and get cut. higher reps, 12 to 15. short rest periods inbetween sets to keep your heart rate up.




next is diet, without the proper diet you cant build muscle. you need to find out your TCC compared to your TEE. total calories consumed and your total energy expended. once you find that out if you want to lose weight, you simply burn more cals then you consume. to gain weight you must eat more then you burn. to know how many cals you must consume to build muscle you multiple your body weight by 15 or 20. 200lb man means you consume 3500 to 4000 cals a day to gain muscle. your diet will consist of lean meat, turkey, chicken, lean red meat, fish, eggs ect.. natural carbs. brown rice, wholewheat bread, oatmeal, ect... fats are to be healthy fats. omega 3, flaxseed, olive oil ect.... and plenty of fiberous green leafy veggi's. yoy want to consume 6-8 smaller meals a day. this keeps your metabolism on full speed and you burn cals even while resting. when trying to build size you want to consume all your natural carbs by late afternoon at the latest. you consume most of your carbs around your workout. consume 50 to 100 grams of fast acting carbs directly after your workout. this helps in the recovery process. muscle is not built in the gym. muscle is damaged in the gym. proper nutrtition builds muscle back up and helps it recover. recovery is when the muscle grows. your daily diet ratio would look like this roughly. 40/30/20. 40% carbs, 30% protein/ 20% healthy fats.


supplements, bcaa amino acids. L glutamine, protein powder, multivitamin, fish oil caps, green tea extract, V-E and V-C. these are the basic supps you need to help with muscle growth. they are eesential in the growth and recovery process.

I noticed you train 5 days a week. I'm a guy who when he does something is only interested in results. if you're like me then this info will go along way. hope it helps you out.

BEFORE

I struggle with neck and upper back problems, how could I strenthen these muscles with a barbell or dumbells?

Thanks for the good info.

musclebuilder

No problem at all. exercises you would use to strengthen the upper, lower, middle, and outer. Its import to build your back equally so I'll give you a full rundown. you said barbells or dumbbells. I will also add exercises that dont include those two pieces of equipment. obviously wide grip chin ups are the best back builder. very hard. guys who train for 20 years can struggle to do 12 to 15 good chins. but its not about that, its about just doing them as they really build your lat muscles. glose grip chin ups. you can also use pulldown machines. but use both wide grip and a close grip version to make sure you hit a wider area of back. bent over barbell rows, 1 arm dumbbell rows. seated cable rows. T bar rows. basicly rows and chin ups are what you use for building the back. deadlifts are also a very good overall back builder. but do involve more leg so some do this exercise on leg day. It does build the back well thou and should be used to help build overall strength and muscle. however with any exercise form is crucial. form allows you to do the exercise correctly, hits the muscle you are working and keeps you from injuring yourself. theres many vids online you can watch and study of how to do any of these exercises correctly. practice makes perfect, but know what you're doing as well as what muscle or area of muscle you're training. also the rear delts. are a big part of rear upper back development. bent over laterals, seated bent over laterals. wide grip upright rows. reverse pec deck. you can do variations of bent over laterals. 1 arm at a time, standing bent over, seated bent over. both arms, or with a cable. cable cross over laterals as well. most people train rear delts on shoulder day. you would be smart on a shoulder day to start with rear delt exercises and do that while your freshest. then move to side delt and front delt. this is called a (priority training principle). and your trap muscles make up a good portion of your back. dumbbell shrugs. barbell shrugs with the bar infront of your body. barbell shrugs with the bar behind you. you can train these after shoulders on the same day during the same workout. 3 sets of 2 or 3 of the exercises I mentioned.

Like I said, look into subscribing to a fitness magazine like muscle and fitness. it can make a world of difference. I'm not a company rep or anything like that. Its just the best thing I can think of to help guide you. its a cheap investment and it can give you priceless info.

good luck buddy.

hnlymark

I work out every other day, with an occasional two day break when I feel particularly beat up. I do 3 sets of 6-8 reps of the following, in order, with 60 seconds in between sets:
Bench Press
Bent Over Dumbell Row
Overhead Dumbell Tricep Extension (?)
Seated Dumbell Curl
Barbell Pullover
Batwing
Inclined Dumbell Bench Press
Barbell Curls
Military Press
Crunches 3 Sets of 30 Reps w/Weights
This usually takes about 60 minutes and is pretty intense. I put it in MFP as an hour of strength training and get about 260 calories for it. This has been pretty successful so far, and with my logging on MFP, I have lost 7lbs in the last month. I have reached a plateau in weights though. I have been stuck at the same weights and reps for the last month. I think improvements there would require a goal change from weight loss to gain, and I still want to trim down some more. BTW, my calories remaining at the end of the day is generally very close to zero. I would like to start doing legs, but I have knee problems right now. I refrain from cardio for the same reason.

musclebuilder

good for you for taking steps to improve your life bro. Weight training, healthy diet can make all the difference in your quality of life. I can help give some advice to get you going forward again.

first off, not sure what kind of problems you have with your knee's. but I supplement Cissus Quadrangularis which is a plant extract minimum 4% ketosteroids through UV methods. Cissus Quadrangularis has been used traditionally to support optimal joint health, enhance recovery, support healthy weight management, and as a antioxidant. It keeps my joints feeling perfect. again I'm not sure of your exact problem but this stuff is very usefull. I'm a firm believer in supplements and vitamins. also if you train legs, buy a set of knee wraps. cheap like $5 to $15 bucks for a good pair. keep those knees feeling good during a leg workout. if your knee's are really bad theres excercises like leg extensions, leg curls that can help the legs with minimal stress on the knee's. but its best to incorporate a squat, several varations of the squat or legpress. over time these exercises if done correctly will build the knee's back up rather then tear them down. fish oil caps are great for joints also.

my advice is train everybody part. you train every other day. try training 2 days on, and a day off and two days on again and then two days off. back with biceps, chest with triceps. shoulders on there own day and legs get there own day. train calves once a week and abs twice. lots of situps dont equal a 6 pack. diet equals a six pack. train them twice a week hard and there good. this switch in your routine alone will cause new muscle growth and soreness. mix up the order of your exercises from work out to workout. every 2 weeks to a month add a new exercise in a routine for a body part and move a exercise out. this keeps your muscles guessing and keeps them constently shocked and in a state of growth. I'll post another reply below.

musclebuilder

bodybuilding is very complicated. I could go on forever. but I'll keep it to the point. in a previous post. find out your TEE and you TCC. total cals consumed, total energy expended. to build muscle you must consuume more then you burn. to cut weight you must burn more then you consume. multiply your body weight by 15 or 20 and thats the amount of cals you want to consume when bulking. diet ratio roughly of 40% carbs 30% protein 20% healthy fats. when cutting you lower carbs and up your protein. 1 to 1 and a half grams of protein per lb of body weight a day to build muscle. buy a protein powder. consume natural carbs, lean protein, healthy fats. green fiberous veggi's. this will allow you to build size while eating high calories but keep fat at a minimum because your eating clean foods. fast digesting carbs, for example two bottles of gatorade directly after your workout. this helps the recovery process of your depleted muscles. supplements. essentail bcca amino acids, L gluramine, fish oil caps at 3 to 6 a day at night time. protein powder. green tea extract tabs. vitamin E, C. theres lots of usefull supps to help you. these are the basics that can do the most good for you.

make sure you train for 8-12 weeks. followed by a week or two off. if you have been training for more then 4 months with a week off, take two weeks off. you are most likely over trained. this happens to every bodybuilder at some point. follow the 8-12 weeks followed by a week off and you will prevent this from ever happening. over training means you cant make gains anymore no matter how hard you try. you lose strength and your basicly just beat down all the time. trouble sleeping the whole 9 yards. its the biggest reason you see people hit the wall with there gains, along with diet. but rest is very important. any time I have hit walls a good rest and I'm back feeling good again when I hot the gym. the first couple weeks your not very strong. but before long you'll get past those stick points. probably seems like alot to take in. well it is. and theres alot more to it. but this info can help you move forward past some of the most coomen mistakes and you'll make good progress. theres lots of great books and magazines you can read on weight training. hope this info helps get you back in the direction of strength gains and big muscles : ) best of luck happy lifting man.

jamerz3294

Wow! A thread without Tam, or shannon, is just weird, lol! :laugh:
I do 2ea 35 minute sets on the elliptical 4-5 days a week, and in between sets I do a lap around the Circuit as well. Then, in the afternoon, I try to find 1 good calories burning activity around the house.
I also log everything I eat, and simply plan on staying under that way. We eat pretty healthy, and tend to not buy processed foods etc. Plus, we take turns cooking, so that helps a lot.

My only problem area is my gut. Like a lot of guys (including dear old dad) I carry my weight around my middle. At 260 lbs, and a BMI of obese (32-33), I honestly am not caring if I don't eat all my exercise calories. My pants are fitting looser, and all my weights are up on the Circuit, I just need help in the middle, so to speak.

musclebuilder

Jamerz, probably need to tweak your diet. make sure to do cardio 4-5 days a week. 30 to 45 minute sessions. make sure your diet consists of lean protein sources, natural carbs earlier in the day. green leafy veggi's the rest of the day with every meal. green leafy veggi's should provide the majority of your daily carbs. healthy fats. omega 3, fish, fish oil, flaxseed, nuts ect... I would train abs atleast once a week. do exercises that target the upper and lower portions of the abs. all the situps in the world dont give you good abs. the ab muscles are to small to burn fat in that area. so diet is the key. make sure you burn more cals then you consume daily. if you read my posts above I explain this in detail. eating the food sources above, burning more cals daily then you consume, cardio 4 to 5 days a week and you should shed the pounds. if you hit walls you should up the intensity in your workouts. take green tea extract, and fish oil caps. fish oil at night time. no less then 3g. studies have proven those who supplement fish oil and green tea burn more body fat then those that do not. take a multivitamin as well. stay consistant with your diet. try to eat clean everyday. by clean I mean nothing but the foods I mentioned above. fruit is ok, but not to much. lots of suger in fruit. eat 6 to 8 small meals a day once every 3 hours. never go longer then 3 hours. this speeds up your metabolism and helps you burn cals even when resting. natural carbs such as oatmeal, brown rice, wholewheat bread, wholewheat pasta are all healthy foods you can eat. but again, consume these foods early in the day. eating them later in the day gives you a better chance of storing them and not using them as an energy source. best to eat these pre and post workout. breakfast. good luck and keep working hard. you'll achieve your goals.

jamerz3294

Wow, thanx musclebuilder! I did read the above posts, and they were illuminating. the wife and I were talking about the 6meal a day plan yesterday. She is better at "snacking" thru the day , with smaller meals than I am. I do cardio 4-5 times a week, usually 70 minutes (2ea elliptical of 35 minutes) plus, we try to burn more calories around the house (take a walk, yard work, etc) as well. Interesting notion do get the carbs in first part of the day? I have been just kinda trying to spread them out, along with the other categories. So far, I've been doing pretty good at not eating more calories than I consume, so we'll just hafta stay that course as well. Thanx for the tips! :happy:

mjfer123

My diet is MFP basically, I just stay within my allowances (mostly)
other than that, I have an arms/legs/cardio work out schedule that I adhere to 5 days a week.
I still do cardio on all days, but my cardio day is a longer cardio work out.
I either run outside on the track, or on an elliptical.
I do curls and lifts and all that stuff.
Lunges, squats etc.
Nothing unique really.
Sometimes I'll read in Mens Health different exercises that I try and fit in at the end of a work out if I have time.

What kind of cardio?

sorry, must have missed this earlier,

Usually running and jogging,
I try to fit in stairs and jump rope too,
the best way to do it is to jump rope between weight sets or different exercies, it lets you relax some muscles but keep your heart rate up so you burn more.

jamdblake4

Sorry I got lost in all the math I had to do to find out what my eaos is?

I would start with some questions for you what are you trying to do? live healthy? run around the world. swim the English channel? it's all differnt, so you have to train and eat for what you want to do. If you are looking to live a long and happy life most of your diet should be freash vegs, fruit some grains, and protien (meat or Meatless)

70% of your over all health is what you eat. so that leave30% for the gym. if your not looking to do the next iron man you need train HARD but if not 3 to 4 days a week lifting and 4 to 5 days a week cardo, and you'll be healthy and happy.

musclebuilder

jamerz3294, not a problem. glad to hear you guys are working hard and achieving your goals. as far as carbs go. veggi's are ok at any time. green leafy fibrous veggi's are the best bet. eating them throughout the day, lunch, and dinner keeps your digestive tract clean and ready to accept new nutrients, thus maximizing nutrient utilization. you want your body to absorb what you eat rather then store it as bodyfat. but variety in veggi's is key too. natural carbs that you get from wholewheat sources. oatmeal, wheatbread, pasta, brown rice ect.. are best to consume earlier in the day. its ok to consume a large amount of your daily natural carb intake pre and post workout. they help fuel your workout, give you that much needed energy and get used up. and post workout they help refuel you from your workouts. insulin sensitivity goes down at night and carbs at dinner and beyond run the risk of being stored as bodyfat. unless you train at night, avoiding carbs at night is best.

continued success with your fitness goals.

calatibo

lets see....

monday wednesday and friday is a 30 minute interval training on eliptical or stationery bike; 30-45 minutes of free weights (bench press, cross over cable pull, tricep pull down, barbell squats (on a smith machine, i know, bad for form) bicep curls, shoulder press, bent over dumbell row) 3 sets of 10 reps at probably around 80% ORM (no one to spot me in the tiny gym i use), then back onto cardio, either 20 minutes on which ever machine i did not use from the first 2 or 10 minutes on the rowing machine,

tuesday and thursday are a 1 mile swim (or recntly as the pool has been closed for a refurb, 30 minutes on eliptical and 30 minute on bnike with a very short (10 mins) run thrown in at the end...i hate running for no reason)

saturday (now the season has started) is a game of rugby

sunday is nice long walk (trying to get my parents fitter as well as both need it for health), at least 3 miles, as long as 8 depends on how everyone is feeling and if the rain hold off.

edit - meant to say, not training for bulk, training for muscle and cardio stamina and strength. happy not to be built like truck :laugh:

hnlymark

3 sets of 10 reps at probably around 80% ORM (no one to spot me in the tiny gym i use), [/
quote]

Same here...my tiny gym is my house :laugh: Its no fun dumping 190lbs off your chest because ya got carried away on your bench press routine...