The ~New~ SWF GYM! Newbies and New Years Resolution Peeps Wanted!

[Grey Belnades]

Ah, I see. Thanks guys. Now I'll be able to go bench lifting and as I'm lifting, I'll tell my spotter "More weight...more weight...less weight...more weight" with each lift. I hope to start the gym by this week or next.

 

[theeboredone]

Alternatively, if you don't want to do the 5x5, go with Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength. It's a similar program, but one that plenty will swear by.

 

[Vixen]

swearing by one but not the other is arbitrary.

 

[Grey Belnades]

Thanks for the alternative Bored. I don't think I could do the deadlift again, I barely managed last time. Sogood news everyone, I bought a years' worth at the gym Monday though everyone seems to be implying it was a bad idea. Probably because of the cost ($444) or because they don't believe in me. I've already been to the gym three times this week. My schedule is Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

 

[Vixen]

Old man grey you do know yoyre supposed to start with a free bar and work up right?

Deadlifts are far too beneficial not to do at least once every other week.

 

[Fox Hater]

Wow never thought this thread would exist, congrats guys!

Well my story is that Ive always been skinny, but Ive always workout ( sprinting, jogging, sometimes going to the Gym or doing exersise @ home) But ive never been to consistent.

At least I dont have shame on taking my shirt at the beach cause Im some what ripped

But Im tired of being skinny Im 6'1'' - 6'2'' and only weight 140

My first goal is to reach 160, do you recomend using specifics products like protein shakes and stuff like that??

Also they've told me to eat at least 4 times a day, I saw someone who posted he consumed 3,500 calories daily, how do you keep count?

I would like help on diet, at least I can cook Also Im from Puerto Rico we eat a lot of Rice & Beans , does that help? Heard beans are good protein source, but Rice isnt.


My workout schedule is the following

Mon: Chest
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Shoulders and trapezius muscle??
Thursday Biceps and triceps
Friday: Back ( espalda in spanish, dont know if said this correctly )

Should I try to combine more muscules during the week? That way I exersise them twice a week?

Please any help and tip I would be gratefull

 

[GoldShadow]

My first goal is to reach 160, do you recomend using specifics products like protein shakes and stuff like that??

Also they've told me to eat at least 4 times a day, I saw someone who posted he consumed 3,500 calories daily, how do you keep count?

For gaining weight, you don't need to use supplements like protein powder/protein shakes, but they can help. There was some informative discussion about it a few pages back in this thread, so check out those posts.

For counting calories, you can use nutrition labels on the food packaging, or just find the information online, like this website for example.

My workout schedule is the following

Mon: Chest
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Shoulders and trapezius muscle??
Thursday Biceps and triceps
Friday: Back ( espalda in spanish, dont know if said this correctly )

Hm... I'm certainly not an expert or a trainer or anything like that, but my first impression looking at this schedule is that you may find yoursef overtraining, not giving muscles enough rest or time to heal between workouts, which can lead to injuries and fewer strength/weight gains.

For example, a chest workout will generally hit the shoulders and triceps, a number of biceps and triceps exercises also involve the shoulders, and most middle-back/upper-back exercises also involve the shoulders. So even though your shoulder workout is Wednesday, you're actually working the shoulders 3-4 days in that week, which can definitely lead to an injury if you're working out intensely. Similarly, a number of shoulder exercises also hit the biceps and triceps as well as the back, and a number of back exercises also work the biceps and shoulders.

So I really think you need to include a lot more rest time between workouts that involve the same muscle groups. You may also want to have a day specifically for abs and core work.

Btw, the trapezius muscles are commonly just called the "trap" or "traps." And back does mean espalda, so you used it correctly

 

[Grey Belnades]

Old man grey you do know yoyre supposed to start with a free bar and work up right?

Deadlifts are far too beneficial not to do at least once every other week.

...I now know that, thank you.

Actually, I mixed the names up. It was actually Overhead Press that I had a tough time with, Deadlift was easy.

 

[Vixen]

Oh god, Fox, you were fed so much wrong information.

A. How often you eat means absolutely nothing. What matters is what, and how much you eat. Nuts, and 100% fat milk are the most efficient weight gainers. Find out your Basal Metabolic Rate, find out how much energy you use when exercising, then eat 3500-7000 more calories than that per week to gain 1-2 lbs per week.

B. Targeted exercises are inefficient. If you want to gain weight, AND be strong/look good, do strength training first. Don't do body building until you have a strong core. Actually, in general, if someone tells you using a machine, or spot training is good, you should probably ignore them.

 

[SharkAttack]

Weekly Summary #9 for 2013
2/25/2013 - 3/3/2013

Running: 37.1 Miles in 5:29:27 2013 Total: 254.50 Miles in 38:54:16 (2,245.50 Miles from 2013 Goal)

Biking: 0 Miles 2013 Total: 3.90 Miles (996.10 Miles from 2013 Goal)

Swimming: 0 Miles 2013 Total: 1.5 Miles (98.5 Miles from 2013 Goal)

Lifting: Lifted 2x (Monday, Saturday) Did various arm machines, some free weights, and some leg machines.
I stepped it up on the cardio this week, but I still should have done more. For February I wound up running 61 miles. While this is nice as oppose to nothing, if I'm going to get back to being at my prime in running and obtaining my 2013 mileage goal, I have to step things up. So far in March I'm at 21.50 miles. It's been over 5 years since I pr'd in the 5k and I badly want to break my record of 17:33 set on 7/14/2007. It's going to take some speed work as well, but that's fun. On Friday I ran up and down a hill for 5 min straight in sets of 3 with a 5 minute recovery jog in between each interval. I also ran 10 minutes easy before the first interval and 10 minutes recovery after the last. It felt great.

I'm so pathetic at biking it's a disgrace. I only biked on New Year's Day so far and that's it. I need to start biking to work and back. That's what I did for the 3.90 miles I've done so far. The ground is ice and snow free right now, and the temperature will get up into the 40's and stay there by mid-week. I will definitely bike.

Swimming isn't a big priority for me, and I don't think I will get this goal. It takes me about 30 minutes to swim a half mile in a pool. It's tough for me to get in the pool time wise. I'm still going to go after this. I would like to get in 1 mile this week even though I need two a week to get my year goal, well, actually about 3 now since I'm behind. I'm not sure how this will work out or end up.

Lifting didn't happen much. I need to hit up more free weights. I've been gradually doing this. I've got to watch some videos on Youtube of specific free weight workouts, and understand what muscles are being used with each.

 

[Vixen]

You should stop doing machines lol.

 

[Thundermistress]

At least it's a start for the meantime.

I'd like to start biking a bit more myself, as I've started integrating a couple of minutes in my gym visits and have been starting to enjoy it.

 

[Grey Belnades]

Starting my 3rd week in and I can now squat 30lbs from nothing when I started. Woo!

 

[NeverKnowsBest]

^ Congrats Grey! Keep up the good work!

 

[MASAHIROx]

you should train legs on monday!

its boosts your testosterone for the rest of the week!

many people skip legs but legs are VERY important!!!

alos please don't wear a fitted cap while lifting! its annoying!

 

[Grey Belnades]

^ Congrats Grey! Keep up the good work!

Thanks Never! Will do.

you should train legs on monday!

its boosts your testosterone for the rest of the week!

many people skip legs but legs are VERY important!!!

alos please don't wear a fitted cap while lifting! its annoying!

I train my legs on Fridays but I will definitely switch to Mondays next week.

Don't worry, I don't. Just wear a simple tee and shorts. Caps aren't my style.

Also, anyone have any recommended workouts or tips for working core?

 

[MASAHIROx]

this is what i do

mon - legs/abs
tues - chest/triceps
wed - OFF
thurs - back/biceps
friday - shoulders/traps/forearms
sat - OFF
sun - OFF

 

[NeverKnowsBest]

alos please don't wear a fitted cap while lifting! its annoying!

I always wear fitting caps when I lift! Those or beanie because I HATE wiping sweat from my face when I'm lifting. I always end up getting acne if I do. Hat = sweat in hat or beanie = A LOT less wiping with dirty towel = beautiful face! =D

I do a four day split now a days. I really like this style of working out and kind of regret that I've been on a 3 day split for the past year.

Day 1: Legs/Shoulders/Traps
Day 2: Chest and Tri
Day 3: Back and Bi
Day 4: Cardio (maybe) or OFF.
I do abs everyday because it feels right.
Repeat.

My strength has gone up a lot, and am getting quite lean. A lot of the gym vets are coming up to me and taking notice which is a HUGE boost in my confidence. I've been steadily losing a pound a week and have been noticing a lot more definition in my muscles.

 

[Vermanubis]

Mizuki, what's wrong with machines? Of course, I personally prefer not to use them, but there's nothing wrong with using them. They aren't without virtue though, since they almost entirely preclude the possibility for injury. Not to mention, they're great for isolating weaker muscles. For example, if someone has weak triceps, they'll have a hard time working on their chest outside of flyes. Outside of machines, it's very difficult to get a good chest workouts without tricep synergy.

Also, just for the sake of argument, I think the squat = more testosterone thing is a myth. If you think about it, your body has no way of delineating between which muscles are worked, and how to regulate testosterone production appropriately in response. That isn't to say that doing legs isn't paramount, but I'd be remiss to agree that leg workouts hold the patent on testosterone production. Superficially, it makes perfect sense, but if you give it a second thought, you have to wonder how the body would be able to tell. It would have to be able to measure the force of the contraction by having special nerve-endings in the legs which would stimulate your jewels into releasing a special amount of hormone.

Oh, and nice job to NKB and Grey for doing so well.

 

[GoldShadow]

Mizuki, what's wrong with machines? Of course, I personally prefer not to use them, but there's nothing wrong with using them. They aren't without virtue though, since they almost entirely preclude the possibility for injury. Not to mention, they're great for isolating weaker muscles. For example, if someone has weak triceps, they'll have a hard time working on their chest outside of flyes. Outside of machines, it's very difficult to get a good chest workouts without tricep synergy.

Free weights result in much bigger strength gains, and they also recruit stabilizer muscles.
According to this study, people who did free form exercises had twice as much strength gain as the ones who used fixed weights over the course of 4 months. The ones who did free form exercise saw an improvement in balance/stability 5 times that of the group that used fixed-form machines.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18296958

Overall muscle use in free weight squats was 43% higher than muscle use in Smith machine squats:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19855308

So I think Mizuki is spot-on in saying that free weights/free-form exercise is considerably better than fixed-form machines. Furthermore, if someone has weak triceps, they can strengthen it by continuing to bench press (eventually, the triceps will catch up) and free weight triceps exercises.

That said, I think machines are fine to use if you're just starting out, or if you use them in addition to free weights, but for sigfnicant gains, free weights are absolutely necessary.

Also, just for the sake of argument, I think the squat = more testosterone thing is a myth. If you think about it, your body has no way of delineating between which muscles are worked, and how to regulate testosterone production appropriately in response. That isn't to say that doing legs isn't paramount, but I'd be remiss to agree that leg workouts hold the patent on testosterone production. Superficially, it makes perfect sense, but if you give it a second thought, you have to wonder how the body would be able to tell. It would have to be able to measure the force of the contraction by having special nerve-endings in the legs which would stimulate your jewels into releasing a special amount of hormone.

Recent research shows that the squat = testosterone = greater overall muscle growth may be a myth, but not for the reasons you've posited. The human body is an extremely complex system with hundreds of thousands of signaling pathways and sensory mechanisms. It was previously thought that when muscle was stresed/fatigued/exerted/damaged (as it is during exercise and weightlifting), it would release hormones or signaling proteins that induced the pituitary, adrenals, and gonads to cause the production of various other hormones, including the production of testosterone by the gonads. Larger muscle groups (such as the legs and the glutes) would naturally produce more of these signal peptides/hormones, resulting in a greater production of hormones like testosterone. Other mechanisms, like glucose use/oxygen depletion/recruitment of anaerobic pathways/workload on the heart could also serve as signals to increase productions of certain hormones like testosterone, and again, the legs being a large muscle group require more glucose and use more oxygen and make the heart work harder than other muscle groups. According to the theory, this increase in free testosterone floating around in the bloodstream would cause greater overall muscle growth everywhere in the body.

So in other words, it was an entirely plausible theory, and was based more on the size of the muscle than some special indication to the brain that "hey, the legs are working out now, better make more testosterone" (not that that is such an absurd idea, and it's totally within the realm of possibility).

But like I said, recent research has shown that that's not what's going on. Yes, any sort of acute activity will produce an increase in overall testosterone/GH/IGF-1, but this spike in hormone levels only lasts for 15-30 minutes. In other words, it's likely not responsible for muscle growth, which is a process that takes days, not half an hour. There's an increase in testosterone, but not for long enough to make any difference in muscle growth.

Recent studies show that the acute spike in testosterone and other hormones does not, for the most part, affect strength gains and muscle growth (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3371329/). It's now thought that local release of growth factors and peptides and hormones is what triggers muscle growth. In other words, when muscle fibers are exerted and damaged, they release signals to nearby cells and satellite cells, and it's this local cascade of events (see http://www.skeletalmusclejournal.com/content/1/1/4 for a study that discusses one specific pathway) that causes muscle growth and repair. (Also see https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/musclesgrowLK.html for more).

What this means is that working the legs is great for the legs (and any other muscle groups involved), but it doesn't cause some big/medium-term increase in testosterone that'll benefit your whole body. If you want to strengthen legs, work the legs. If you want to strengthen your chest or arms, you have to work the chest and arms--your leg workout won't help them. Doing squats won't leave mounds of testosterone floating around in your body.

 

[GoldShadow]

By the way, regarding machines vs free weights:

It's not so much about machines vs free weights as it is about free form vs fixed form. Free weight exercises are obviously free form, but so are some machine exercises like the cable crossover. It's more about whether or not the machine restricts your plane of movement.

 

[Jane]

a fine post, goldshadow.

just wanted to pop in and say that i worked out for the first time in 6 months on friday. it was a painful weekend but now, my body is ready. 140lbs, here i come (currently ~125).

 

[Vermanubis]

Free weights result in much bigger strength gains, and they also recruit stabilizer muscles.
According to this study, people who did free form exercises had twice as much strength gain as the ones who used fixed weights over the course of 4 months. The ones who did free form exercise saw an improvement in balance/stability 5 times that of the group that used fixed-form machines.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18296958

Overall muscle use in free weight squats was 43% higher than muscle use in Smith machine squats:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19855308

So I think Mizuki is spot-on in saying that free weights/free-form exercise is considerably better than fixed-form machines. Furthermore, if someone has weak triceps, they can strengthen it by continuing to bench press (eventually, the triceps will catch up) and free weight triceps exercises.

That said, I think machines are fine to use if you're just starting out, or if you use them in addition to free weights, but for sigfnicant gains, free weights are absolutely necessary.

Statistics can't beat the math: http://cdn.scoobysworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/SquatsAndSpine.jpg

From a mechanical standpoint, there is absolutely no difference between a machine and a freeweight. The EMG increase is due to stabilization, which can be supplemented just fine with other exercises. As for an imbalance between the triceps, if you're doing benchpress with weak triceps, you'll be burning out your chest beneath its threshold, but maxing out your triceps, which means you'll be putting your chest into disuse for a few days for a sub-optimal workout. Getting a push-type chest workout without weak triceps is like getting a good chin workout from chewing gum.

Don't get me wrong now; I agree freeweights are better because they have a variety of benefits, most notable of which is the property of making an exercise compound. But it's not as though machines don't have their place.

Recent research shows that the squat = testosterone = greater overall muscle growth may be a myth, but not for the reasons you've posited. The human body is an extremely complex system with hundreds of thousands of signaling pathways and sensory mechanisms. It was previously thought that when muscle was stresed/fatigued/exerted/damaged (as it is during exercise and weightlifting), it would release hormones or signaling proteins that induced the pituitary, adrenals, and gonads to cause the production of various other hormones, including the production of testosterone by the gonads. Larger muscle groups (such as the legs and the glutes) would naturally produce more of these signal peptides/hormones, resulting in a greater production of hormones like testosterone. Other mechanisms, like glucose use/oxygen depletion/recruitment of anaerobic pathways/workload on the heart could also serve as signals to increase productions of certain hormones like testosterone, and again, the legs being a large muscle group require more glucose and use more oxygen and make the heart work harder than other muscle groups. According to the theory, this increase in free testosterone floating around in the bloodstream would cause greater overall muscle growth everywhere in the body.

So in other words, it was an entirely plausible theory, and was based more on the size of the muscle than some special indication to the brain that "hey, the legs are working out now, better make more testosterone" (not that that is such an absurd idea, and it's totally within the realm of possibility).

But like I said, recent research has shown that that's not what's going on. Yes, any sort of acute activity will produce an increase in overall testosterone/GH/IGF-1, but this spike in hormone levels only lasts for 15-30 minutes. In other words, it's likely not responsible for muscle growth, which is a process that takes days, not half an hour. There's an increase in testosterone, but not for long enough to make any difference in muscle growth.

Recent studies show that the acute spike in testosterone and other hormones does not, for the most part, affect strength gains and muscle growth (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3371329/). It's now thought that local release of growth factors and peptides and hormones is what triggers muscle growth. In other words, when muscle fibers are exerted and damaged, they release signals to nearby cells and satellite cells, and it's this local cascade of events (see http://www.skeletalmusclejournal.com/content/1/1/4 for a study that discusses one specific pathway) that causes muscle growth and repair. (Also see https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/musclesgrowLK.html for more).

What this means is that working the legs is great for the legs (and any other muscle groups involved), but it doesn't cause some big/medium-term increase in testosterone that'll benefit your whole body. If you want to strengthen legs, work the legs. If you want to strengthen your chest or arms, you have to work the chest and arms--your leg workout won't help them. Doing squats won't leave mounds of testosterone floating around in your body.

Good post.

 

[GoldShadow]

Statistics can't beat the math: http://cdn.scoobysworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/SquatsAndSpine.jpg

From a mechanical standpoint, there is absolutely no difference between a machine and a freeweight. The EMG increase is due to stabilization, which can be supplemented just fine with other exercises. As for an imbalance between the triceps, if you're doing benchpress with weak triceps, you'll be burning out your chest beneath its threshold, but maxing out your triceps, which means you'll be putting your chest into disuse for a few days for a sub-optimal workout. Getting a push-type chest workout without weak triceps is like getting a good chin workout from chewing gum.

Ah, good points!

 

[deepseadiva]

This thread is still goldshadow.

I haven't done a leg day since January. I'll head your advice Mashiro. Bright and early Monday when I'm back at school.

 

[Attila_]

I think I like shadow. I might start posting here again.

 

[MASAHIROx]

wtf meno!! Seriously? Legs are epic!! + who wants chicken legs.

+Chicks dig it I get compliments all the time.
no homo gentlemen but chicks like a nice butt. They naturally associate it with thrusting power instinctively. They can't help it.


1. start with a warm up run / walk
2. STRETCH
3. LIFT (squat/lunge<weighted get me sore every time/step ups/front squat/box squat/leg press)
DON'T FORGET YOUR HAMMIES AND CALFS.

Oh YEA try squatting with legs shoulder width apart and with toes pointed out ward like this >> \ / to hit your glutes better

DO NOT SKIP WARMING UP STRETCHING ON LEG DAY

you're gonna need all the flexibility you can get to avoid injury and get maximum range of motion.

 

[Vermanubis]

I know it seems like I live to disagree with people here, but passive stretching reduces the muscle's ability to fully contract. That's primarily passive stretching though, which is a maintained stretch with the intent of lengthening. Dynamic stretching, like kicking and moving the joints through a wide range of motion is the best kind of stretching before a workout. Leave the passive stretching for after, since the muscular fatigue makes the golgi tendon reflex more likely to occur, which is the signal triggering muscle fiber lengthening.

Here's a good picture showing the difference:

 

[Grey Belnades]

Still squating and oating but I'd thought I'd give a small update. One cool thing I noticed was I have more arm/grip strength. It really helped me out when I had to do my firearms qualifying exam last week (which I passed). The firearm never really jumped off my hand when compared when I took the exam last semester.

 

[theeboredone]

What's everyone's take if you have your protein shake after your workout, then proceed to go do cardio? I used to just have my protein when I came home, but ever since I started carrying a blender bottle, I can now take my shakes after my weight lifting.

 

[MASAHIROx]

Personally I would be burping it up for the rest of the day

I'm against all types of 'shakes' / 'supplements'

100% all natural beef here.

 

[theeboredone]

There's just an inherent laziness about me when it comes to eating a lot of natural food all the time. Easier to mix some water and whey protein compared to making additional meals outside of breakfast, lunch, dinner.

 

[Thundermistress]

I want a perkier butt. Other than squats, what exercises can I do to work on this? I'm cutting back on squats, as I hurt my lower back a while back and I still feel it when I'm squatting (for whatever reason). Have been instead doing lunges (which is more quads I guess), am running out of the gym (usually 3-5km a few times a week), and using the bicycle/cross trainer when I am at the gym.

 

[MASAHIROx]

1. weighted lunges
2. weighted step ups
3. lower back extensions
4. super squats
5. hamstring curls
6. calf raises

 

[theeboredone]

Knee soreness has returned. Damn you knees.

 

[Teran]

Stopped with the slacking and back to the gym. Dropped a bit, but not much which is nice. Come summer, I'll be ready brother.

Back to that main event body jack.

Knee soreness has returned. Damn you knees.

Do you protect your knee joints during squats and stuff?

 

[theeboredone]

What do you mean by "protect"? Knee braces or wraps? Or are you referring more to form?

 

[Shadocat]

As of -4-13-2013

Ran a 5k in 34:13(Major improvement from last year with around 44 minutes)
242lbs to 238 lbs

Hoping to break 30:00 for next months 5k i Run in, along with getting under 230 lbs by then as well.

 

[Thundermistress]

Overdid it on Monday at the gym, woke up Tuesday sore and then twitched something so now i'm stiff and sore through the neck + shoulders. Looks like gym might be a write off for the rest of the week...

 

[theeboredone]

Pretty much deloading this week. Definitely seen some gains over the past month or two. Probably going to take a week off next week to relax and heal some minor injuries I have going on.