Experienced body builders. Need advice please

ihad

Bump

ninerbuff

p.s. make sure you incorporate a good stretching routine, it will help reduce risk of injury.

Actually this has been recently found to be untrue if you do it before exercise.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10593217

However, if you want to keep flexibility, stretching after is a must.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

auroranflash

p.s. make sure you incorporate a good stretching routine, it will help reduce risk of injury.

Actually this has been recently found to be untrue if you do it before exercise.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10593217

However, if you want to keep flexibility, stretching after is a must.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Agreed, stretching cold muscles is not the best idea. However, a flexibility routine including dynamic stretching, yoga, etc is a must... you just have to be careful not to try to do the splits after working in an office all day. I'm not responsible if you do!

DavPul

Cardio during a bulk will do nothing but benefit you as long as you eat more calories to compensate.

So eat back the calories and net zero, all the while taxing his recovery system? Where's the benefit? Pass

10 minute Warmup?

that's fine. i'm more referring to 30-60 min running/treadmill/ellipitical type stuff.

DavPul

Cardio during a bulk will do nothing but benefit you as long as you eat more calories to compensate.

So eat back the calories and net zero, all the while taxing his recovery system? Where's the benefit? Pass

How is walking taxing the the CNS? Hell, even one session of ketllebell swings won't tax the CNS.

my bad. i didn't read the part where he said he was specifically talking about walking. or did he say he was doing a single session of kettlebell swings? wait, which one did he say he was doing?

DavPul

Cardio during a bulk will do nothing but benefit you as long as you eat more calories to compensate.

So eat back the calories and net zero, all the while taxing his recovery system? Where's the benefit? Pass

Benefit would be a stronger cardiovascular system to increase workout intensity on lifting days. Moderate/Low intensity cardio has been shown to improve recovery, not impede it.

Well said.

excellently said. wait, what were we talking about?

i'm still looking for the part where he said we was going to do only moderate to low intensity cardio 3x a week, such as walking or a single session of kettlebell swings. because when most people on the planet say they are going to do cardio 3x per week, they are referring to 10 min warmups, slow strolls in the park, or single sessions of kettlebell swings. i'm playing the percentages here.

AntWrig

Cardio during a bulk will do nothing but benefit you as long as you eat more calories to compensate.

So eat back the calories and net zero, all the while taxing his recovery system? Where's the benefit? Pass

How is walking taxing the the CNS? Hell, even one session of ketllebell swings won't tax the CNS.

my bad. i didn't read the part where he said he was specifically talking about walking. or did he say he was doing a single session of kettlebell swings? wait, which one did he say he was doing?

Cardio encompasses alot. You immediately went to the extremes. So, I provided examples of cardio that wouldn't tax the CNS.

AntWrig

Cardio during a bulk will do nothing but benefit you as long as you eat more calories to compensate.

So eat back the calories and net zero, all the while taxing his recovery system? Where's the benefit? Pass

Benefit would be a stronger cardiovascular system to increase workout intensity on lifting days. Moderate/Low intensity cardio has been shown to improve recovery, not impede it.

Well said.

excellently said. wait, what were we talking about?

i'm still looking for the part where he said we was going to do only moderate to low intensity cardio 3x a week, such as walking or a single session of kettlebell swings. because when most people on the planet say they are going to do cardio 3x per week, they are referring to 10 min warmups, slow strolls in the park, or single sessions of kettlebell swings. i'm playing the percentages here.

When people say they are doing cardio 3x a week. I am going assume they are a moderate to intense form of cardio to further increase a calorie deficit.

Then again, that has been my assessment.

DavPul

How is walking taxing the the CNS? Hell, even one session of ketllebell swings won't tax the CNS.

my bad. i didn't read the part where he said he was specifically talking about walking. or did he say he was doing a single session of kettlebell swings? wait, which one did he say he was doing?

Cardio encompasses alot. You immediately went to the extremes. So, I provided examples of cardio that wouldn't tax the CNS.

i didn't try to go to extremes, but extreme is a relative term. fair enough.

bostonwolf

I recommend you do Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength and follow the program schedule they set up. They will work for a long time.

This. Great full body workouts that will really add muscle. Make sure you are eating enough when you get on it!

Sarauk2sf

Sounds like you still want to get your body fat down. Eat at a slight deficit and start a well established full body lifting protocol that incorporates progressive loading like Stronglifts 5 x 5 or Starting Strength. You can take advantage of newbie gains for a few months while at a deficit. Do this at least for a few months. Plus, you need to get your form down and strength up to take as much advantage when/if you want to bulk. After a few months, move to maintenance and then eat at a slight caloric surplus (250 - 250) to gain muscle.

Do you know your BF%?

AnvilHead

Definitley switch the muscle groups you work from day to day, I would do something more like this (by days) cardio, legs; cardio, upper; cardio; cardio, core; cardio; legs; cardio, upper....

A multi-day split is rarely the best plan for a beginner (which the OP is). 3 full-body workouts a week (with a rest day between each) using compound exercises provide the training frequency to more quickly learn and "groove" the movements. Multi-day splits are usually used by more advanced lifters so they can maximize intensity (sets/reps) on each body part without wrecking the CNS, while also allowing for specialization to work on specific body parts that may be lagging developmentally. Also, since the OP is looking to bulk, 4 days of cardio per week would be counterproductive to his goals.

ChrisC_77

Well, we had a fitness and nutrition professional at our work the last few days. I took part in the Body Composition Analyzer. Here are my results.

Age:35
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 147lbs

Fat % 17.1
Fat Mass: 25.2 lb
Muscle Mass: 115.6 lbs
Bone Mass: 6.2
Visceral Fat Rating: 5

Metabolic Age: 26

I only do a small amount of cardio 3-4 times a week. Only like 5-10 minutes light cardio prior to lifting.

I haven't gotten a plan down yet. Still trying to figure out what works best for me. What I did today was rather than alternate different excercises (like bench a set, then to lat rows, then do a set of tricep extensions) I decided I would complete all 3 sets of one exercise before moving on to the next. With minimal rest in between sets. Like 30 seconds. Then just power through them.

Also, I know rest is important. I have lifted weights in the past. Never serious. Just short episodes here and there. Like most novices, I know it takes awhile to see gains, but may overwork the muscles because I am not seeing any results. I am stronger than I was 2 weeks ago. That's a fact. I lift about 5 days a week. I have heard so many different stratagies it's difficult to know whats right. I know many of you on here know your stuff and you have the results to prove it. So I will take whatever advice you have given into serious consideration. Most likely since I have a fitness center at work, I will lift 5 days a week, but be sure to rotate the muscle groups that get the main attention for that workout session. Like Back and shoulders one day. Legs and core, then chest and arms.

Last question, what is the longest period in between lift sessions you should allow rest? Say 2 days?