Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I'm confused now, the other posters mention that low reps using the 1RM is the rule if I want to gain mass and look cut.

You aren't going to look cut trying to build mass. That's not the way it works. You have to build mass and mix in massive amounts of cardio to get the cut look. If you don't do the cardio, you're going to get bulky.
 
Our bodies are mainly slender, not bony, but about a 31-32 waist.

We like to get a little bigger to have that beach look first. Then go for strength after that. We're trying really hard to eat lots of 4k+ calorie meals. A friend of mine said just eat a lot in general since we're burning so much energy anyways.

In any case, here's what we've done so far for the past couple of weeks. We picked out 5-6 machines: dips, incline bench press, shoulder lifts, row, metal pull down bar thingy and curl/tri-cep pulls or watever. So you can see that we want to gain mass and growth in the general upper body area.

For each machine we're doing 3 sets with 5 reps each. We're doing slightly under the 75% 1RM amount, but I think it's right because we tend to have som trouble w/ the last set on each machine.

I hope we're doing this right.:apple:

What are you doing for your legs? Don't make the mistake of ignoring your legs. Work them as much as you work your upper body. You'll end up looking very strange. Also, what benlangdon said. He's right, and I've said this before- there is no easy, fast way to get in shape. It's a long road. Prepare to do it for life.

To the OP..weightlifting is a journey,not a destination.You never stop learning.Forget the quick hit goal and concentrate on the long haul..Make the investment and it will pay off for years to come..Three basic rules to follow
Train hard
Eat clean (probably most important)
Plenty of sleep for recovery
Keep all three in mind,and you'll succeed..It comes down to one simple question..How bad you want it?

Couldn't have said it better myself.
 
You aren't going to look cut trying to build mass. That's not the way it works. You have to build mass and mix in massive amounts of cardio to get the cut look. If you don't do the cardio, you're going to get bulky.

We're trying to gain mass and look cut as much as possible b4 the trip in mid-Oct. We have only been doing weights. What sorts of cardio do you suggest? Not sure if we have time for cardio since we already do weights 3x a week. We can probably fit in 1 day of running.
 
What are you doing for your legs? Don't make the mistake of ignoring your legs. Work them as much as you work your upper body. You'll end up looking very strange. Also, what benlangdon said. He's right, and I've said this before- there is no easy, fast way to get in shape. It's a long road. Prepare to do it for life.

Um, haven't even touched the legs. Guess we'll have to integrate those too.

From the sounds of it, it seems that we may be better off doing the 30 minute circuit twice w/ some cardio.
 
To the OP.Judging from your replies to the posts in here, you've got a lot to learn..And that's just in regard to lifting.. Do you how many exercises/ways there are to work just the pecs? Then you've got all the other body parts,benefits of dumbells vs machines,which machines are actually beneficial, splits,supersets,cutting/bulking,cardio,HIIT,should I do two on/one off or a three on/one off schedule etc..And that's just lifting part..Then you've got the whole nutrition aspect of it..Good carbs vs bad carbs,when to eat,what to eat when (eating fewer carbs as the day goes on),good fats vs bad fats,how many calories should I consume,how many grams of protein per pound of body weight do I need etc etc etc...
Like I said..It's a journey,not a destination....There's no quick and easy way..And if there is,it's not going to last....
 
You want mass you train hard with low reps and heavy weights. 4-6 reps to failure, 12 sets or so. Each body is different though.
I liked to work opposites on the same day -- chest and back one day, biceps and triceps another, legs and shoulders the third. Basically the push and pull motions for muscle groups together. Rotate that over a five-day cycle. Whatever I left off on Friday, I pick up the next thing on Monday. Ab training everyday.
You've already been told about eating.
Lifted and competed for 20 years, but now I have back, shoulder and knee damage from lifting. So don't do more than your body tells you.
Geez, I still miss those days.
 
do cardio in the beginning for at least min 30min.
on a stationary bike, try and keep the rpm above 100.

also another good tip is, do a few sets of squats
they are the biggest muscle and will get the most testosterone flowing
then do what exercise you really want to gain in.

another is,
after your work out, within an hour after your done, eat some protein, like 15 grams, nothing to much

hey you might want to weigh yourselves and measure yourselves.
measure everything, i mean everything.
 
Three basic exercises you want to include in your routine somehow are bench press, squats and deadlifts..These will work all major muscle groups (and to some degree,secondary muscle groups),upper and lower body as well as strengthen your core..Which is very important. And whatever you do,don't knock or omit machines from your routine..The Hammer Strength Machines as well as the cables,can produce great results..If you ask ten people what their workout routine is,I guarantee you'll get ten different answers...Find what works for you..
Within half hour,post workout,take a protein shake.This is prime time for your muscles.The fibers have been worked out,stretched etc..The whey protein powder contains not only protein but essential and branch chain ammino acids which help in recovery..The shake will get the proteins and amminos into your bloodstream quicker than it will take the body to break down food and assimilate them..
Good luck...
 
Three basic exercises you want to include in your routine somehow are bench press, squats and deadlifts..These will work all major muscle groups (and to some degree,secondary muscle groups),upper and lower body as well as strengthen your core..Which is very important. And whatever you do,don't knock or omit machines from your routine..The Hammer Strength Machines as well as the cables,can produce great results..If you ask ten people what their workout routine is,I guarantee you'll get ten different answers...Find what works for you..
Within half hour,post workout,take a protein shake.This is prime time for your muscles.The fibers have been worked out,stretched etc..The whey protein powder contains not only protein but essential and branch chain ammino acids which help in recovery..The shake will get the proteins and amminos into your bloodstream quicker than it will take the body to break down food and assimilate them..
Good luck...

is it really a half hour?
i dunno i might be wrong.
how about, eat something right after you work out.
 
is it really a half hour?
i dunno i might be wrong.
how about, eat something right after you work out.

I've gotten some good info off this site before..This subject was one of them.
http://www.intense-workout.com/post_workout.html
How long after my workout should I eat my post workout meal?

Soon... really soon. As soon as you can. I don't mean put-down-the-dumbbells-and-start-eating. It doesn't need to be quite that soon. However, there is this "window of time" that exists after your workout during which it would be the most beneficial for your body to receive it's post workout nutrition. Typically you'd want to try to get this meal into your body within 1 hour. If possible, within 30 minutes would be even better. I personally have my post workout meal about 5-10 minutes after my workout. What's that you say? How can I do it so fast if I'm at the gym? Don't worry, more on that later.

Post Workout Protein

Now that you know that time is of the essence when it comes to your post workout meal, this part is going to make a whole lot of sense. See, eating this meal soon after a workout is important, but just because you are putting the food into your body quickly doesn't actually mean the food is being digested and used by your body equally as quick. While egg whites, chicken and tuna fish are fine sources of protein that I personally eat daily, they aren't the ideal type of protein for the meal after your workout.

These foods are whole foods, and the protein in whole foods digest pretty slowly. You may have eaten a high protein food in your post workout meal, but by the time the protein is digested and finally ready to be used by your body, a whole lot of time would have passed. This is why the ideal source of protein to eat after your workout is a whey protein powder mixed with some type of liquid thus creating a whey protein shake.

A whey protein shake will be digested by your body much quicker than a whole food because it will be a liquid. And, not to mention, whey protein is the fastest digesting protein there is. This is what makes whey protein pretty much the official choice of most people as their post workout meal protein source. Most people try to consume anywhere from 20-50 grams of protein at this time. I'd say 30 is probably a good number to shoot for.

A half hour's worked for me,so I'll go with that,lol..Seriously tho,post workout protein/meal is very important..
 
Just reporting in.

This is the about the 3rd week in our workout. Weight lost for the both of us has been about 4-5lbs.

For me, the upper body has seen growth, but not as obvious as I have hoped. The refinement has been become obvious, so that's progress.

For my buddy (aka b0b), he has seen muscle refinement in fewer areas, but that's perhaps due to this larger layer of fat.

As of last week, we have incorporated a 30 minute cardio session after lifting, so that'll help w/ the washboard abs we want.

We have been able to lifte heavier weights on shoulder, back, biceps, triceps, but a bit of a standstill on inclined bench. We started on inclined bench at 60lbs and have moved up to 70 as of 1.5 weeks ago. Now, we can just about finish the 3rd set (5 reps each). So I guess that's progress.

And eating lots is definitely not easy!!!

PS: I just had a protein bar (20g) and a Starbuck's Frap (6g). lol *So tempted by chips!*
 
I'm Chinese and I'm only 5'7", slim build my nature, sadly. Protein protein protein!
 
Just reporting in.

This is the about the 3rd week in our workout.
For me, the upper body has seen growth, but not as obvious as I have hoped.

Three works into a workout??Takes a lot longer than that to see growth man, even if you were juicing. Eat more of the right foods,the last you thing you want is to lose weight. Keep banging..and think long term ;)
 
you dont need any cadio excercise. just eat healthy and lots of proteins.
how tall are u thou??

No cardio? I'm trying to burn the flab in my stomach and love handles. I'm a little over 5'6" weighing in at 150, so the ideal weight has been reached. It's shocking that i've lost 4-5lbs in just 3 short weeks (mainly w/o cardio) doing high weight / low rep. I've just integrated a mile of cardio into my routine just a few sessions ago. I've began to juice. Since we're on that topic, i have some questions regarding that.

I already know i'm suppose to juice up (~20g of protein) after the workout. Am I suppose to juice up protein any other time?
 
definitely do cardio if your looking to lose weight and/or get fit. im naturally thin and reasonably fit so i just do weights and eat carbs and protein to try and gain some muscle.
 
No cardio? I'm trying to burn the flab in my stomach and love handles. I'm a little over 5'6" weighing in at 150, so the ideal weight has been reached. It's shocking that i've lost 4-5lbs in just 3 short weeks (mainly w/o cardio) doing high weight / low rep. I've just integrated a mile of cardio into my routine just a few sessions ago. I've began to juice. Since we're on that topic, i have some questions regarding that.

I already know i'm suppose to juice up (~20g of protein) after the workout. Am I suppose to juice up protein any other time?

"Juicing" in a weightlifting/workout sense generally refers to taking steroids. Kind of a gym term.I'll assume that's not what you mean,lol..
In regard to protein,you need to eat it everyday through the day,esp if you're trying to put on size..20 grams after a workout isn't enough for daily intake. Think five or six small meals a day with lean protein in each one...In addition to the post workout shake..
 
Stop. Right. Now.

Taking steroids is bad mmkay unless you know about proper PCT and even then it is not the best idea.

Edit : Don't call taking protein juicing, it gives people the wrong idea.

That's what I was thinking... But I also recommend bodybuilding.com.

Now I don't want to hijack your thread but I'm just wondering, is it possible to achieve results (stronger and bigger) using calisthenics (ie pushups, planks, 1 mile run, pullups)? Since I don't have a gym around me and all I have is a 10lb dumbbell.
 
Ok, so here's the deal. A buddy and I plan on gaining 10-15lbs of muscle (mainly on the upper body) in about two months time. We can hit the gym 2-3x a week, 1-2 hours each time. We're also willing to take protein, if necessary.

What guides are out there that we can follow? :apple:

O, we're about 27 yrs old ~150 lbs each.
do this for 1-4 weeks
Monday: Chest Shoulders Triceps and Abs
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday:legs/Calves
Thursday: REST
Friday: Back / Triceps/ Biceps

Also eat healthy protein rich foods (dont forget the carbs) and take some whey like stuffs.
 
Now I don't want to hijack your thread but I'm just wondering, is it possible to achieve results (stronger and bigger) using calisthenics (ie pushups, planks, 1 mile run, pullups)? Since I don't have a gym around me and all I have is a 10lb dumbbell.

Very possible..
http://www.pytlik.com/escape/navyseals2.html

Even if you omit the swimming part,that's one hell of a workout routine..


And to the OP,keep banging and learning..Think long term and you'll get long lasting results...
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.