Can you guys recomend me a workout program

[Ugoff]

Now that I'm out of school, I'll have more time to myself. I'm joining a workout center soon and I'm wondering what program and what kind of diet should I be on. I want to have more strenght but I also want to look toned. I have about 2 and a half months before I go back to school so I want to look good by then. I also plan to take whey protein.

[Aramis]

Well, what part of your body did you mainly want to focus on?

Personally I'd recommend that you start out with some cardio if you're just starting out. Building up endurance is a good start.

[Ugoff]

I mainly want to work on Abs, Pecs, and Arms. I already do cardio so I don't think that should be a problem :)

[wonder_steve]

Stats? height weight etc.
Do you have access to a gym?
How much can you spend on food and supps?

[Ugoff]

I'm 5ft 7, I weigh around 140 lbs. I'll have access to a gym. I don't really need any supplys except for whey protein.

[mmettalldemon]

if you want to work on your arms you need to bench and do curls-for pecks their's this other bench that is like a regular one but the part where your back is at like a 45 degree angle and you just bench like that. for abs do weighted crunches. lie on your back and hold a weight above you. you can also put weights on your back while you do pushups

[dancetomdance182]

Also, many people think doing crunches will give you toned visual abs. You need to get rid of that layer of fat above your abs for those muscles to be visible. Therefore, you have to do cardio to get rid of that. Doing ab excersises will only strengthen your ab muscle. Do the core lifts such as bench, squat, deadlifts. Deadlifts work most of your body, so it is important. Bench, works your upper body, and squat works your lower.
I work out regulary, but during the summer, I'm planning to do cardio and control my diet, so I'll be in better shape when I go back to school.

[wonder_steve]

For exercies i say stick to compound exercises to make up the majority of your routine then factor in isolation exercises. Do a bit of research come up with a good split eg back/bi's on monday, legs on tuesday sort of thing. After you have come up with an ideal split find some exercises to use on the day. You can find them at www.bodybuilding.com .

Once you come up with a split, post it here so we can critique it, then we'll work on your diet.

[nitzguy]

start off with low weight and high Reps. you bulid up that and then start some heavy weights. gives you endurance and will get you ripped, the the heavey weight will bulid it up

[Luxor]

What exactly does whey protein do? It sounds really popular, but I know nothing about it.

[Benzum]

Wow, at least I can post with this account again, oh well, Soul Destroyer had a good run :rolleyes:

[wonder_steve]

What exactly does whey protein do? It sounds really popular, but I know nothing about it.

Whey protein is just a protein supplement. It is a by product of making cheese. When you buy it as a powder you are just buying protein. A lot of people think by just having it they will get ripped, not so. If you just have whey but don't do any exercise to build muscle you will just get fat as you are taking in un-needed calories.
It is however useful if you can't get enough protein from other sources.
Did that answer you question?

[Luxor]

Yeah, I kind of figured that's what it was. So is the general consensus that if you workout, then have some of this protein powder, it helps build muscle? I would be concerned (like you said) that I'm getting too much protein and not enough excercise. I guess I'll just stay away from that stuff.

[SickBoy]

Wow, at least I can post with this account again, oh well, Soul Destroyer had a good run :rolleyes:

ummm..k

anyway
if you stick to an intense training program, i workout and run every other day.
how long untill the effects show?

[mmettalldemon]

it depends on what and how much you eat. if you workout and run every day it will show up alot faster.

[KurtCobain2902]

Check out high intensity weight training. It has some of the most amazing and intense workouts you will ever encounter, and it doesnt take long at all. Basically, it's working all major muscles in your body with 1-2 exercises to failure. Trust me, it will make you look incredible.

[KurtCobain2902]

ummm..k

anyway
if you stick to an intense training program, i workout and run every other day.
how long untill the effects show?

It depends. If you're working the same muscles every day you could be over-training them and making them shrink instead of grow depending on how hard you work them. But usually, 3 weeks is a good time to start noticing all kinds of newbie gains.

Creatine is the closest thing you can get to steroids without actualy using roids. It is a miracle supplement. By some. But drink a TON of water while using it or your urinary tract will get clogged.

[KurtCobain2902]

Don't by into the "carbs make you fat" theory. It has truth to it, but if you don't have carbs, you won't build muscle because carbs are what turn the protein to muscle.

[timskold214]

a little off topic, but could any of you tell me the password to get into the forums?!

[mmettalldemon]

also if your in high school or college join your wrestling team. it worked for me. i just kept doing the same workout once the season was over.

[mmettalldemon]

Don't by into the "carbs make you fat" theory. It has truth to it, but if you don't have carbs, you won't build muscle because carbs are what turn the protein to muscle.

yea, carbs will only make you fat if you don't do anything to burn them off

[SickBoy]

It depends. If you're working the same muscles every day you could be over-training them and making them shrink instead of grow depending on how hard you work them. But usually, 3 weeks is a good time to start noticing all kinds of newbie gains.

Creatine is the closest thing you can get to steroids without actualy using roids. It is a miracle supplement. By some. But drink a TON of water while using it or your urinary tract will get clogged.

thanks for the advice and info

[Rats]

Whey protein is good because it's the most complete protein. Take it right after you wake up and immediately after workouts.

You should get a few sessions with a trainer to learn the main exercises and correct technique.

[dancetomdance182]

Technique is really important in lifting. You might be targetting a part of your muscles. Without, proper technique it is useless. I go to my school weight room, I see some guys trying to curl some heavy weight. Well, I see that they are using their back to create moment and curling the bar. It doesn't give any excersise to the biceps which are supposed to be targeted. Yeah, so technique is quite important.

[gtarriff]

Check out high intensity weight training. It has some of the most amazing and intense workouts you will ever encounter, and it doesnt take long at all. Basically, it's working all major muscles in your body with 1-2 exercises to failure. Trust me, it will make you look incredible.
Can you give a link to a good site on this?

[Swiftystrick]

I can't emphasize FORM enough.
If you want gains, I suggest you first practice the form(concentric and eccentric-up/down) for each and every lift you plan to incorporate into your lifting plan. I see way too many people atthe gym waste their time because they're flailing to lift a weight for an exercise that they dont even know how to do.
For someone of your current status(5'7", 140lbs) I would rather have you doing superset workouts than cardiovascular activity. I'm not telling you to cut out the cardio all together, hwoever, doing long, slow bouts of running,swimming or biking will only will contradict the type of muscle growth you want. Marathon runners often lift weights but you don't exactly see them having a lot of muscle. If you plan to do cardio, I would suggest HIT activity such as sprinting or an intense round of basketball. They incorporate the muscles in a natural application that encourages the growth of fast-twitch muscles.
Compound exercises are preferable lifting exercises here. Don't get yourself caught up doing countless sets curls. Do exercises such as rows, squat variations, deadlifts, dips, pullups, and presses(don't overdo the bench press. You might not see this happening but the more often you do the bench press, the more wimpier your body will look). <--- my elaboration for this. The bench press involves bringing your shoulder blades together. The more you do this, the shoulder blades will soon decide to stay in that closer position thus gving you the inability to make that "V" shape body everyone wants so much.
For abdominals, do variations of situps on a swiss ball(more range of motion) and use pylometric methods such as med-ball throws.

[Endless Obsession]

Monday - Towel Bench(Bench with a folded up towel under your shirt to work your triceps), Box Squat (Squat with a under your bum so you dont go down as far).
Also on this day use some of the machines that you have around your workout room. And do abs.

Tuesday - Run.Run.Run.

Wednsday - Dead lift. Power clean(its where you take the bar when you are standing and pick it up and lift it so its on your chest and put it back down, repeat.How to powerclean. (http://www.lessonplanspage.com/printables/PPEPowerCleanWeightTraining912.htm) Then do the same machines and stuff, and abs.

Thursday - Run,Run,Run.

Friday - Normal Bench, Normal Squat, and the same other machines and stuff and abs.

[Swiftystrick]

powercleans should be kept to competitve athletes and experienced lifters. Honestly, using olympic lifts with a beginner is going to accomplish one thing. Not muscle gains but a ****ed up posture chain.

[Rats]

WTF is a towel bench? I've never heard of it before and it sounds shitty. I say just stick with the regular incline/flat bench and incline flys and also dips.

[wonder_steve]

Monday - Towel Bench(Bench with a folded up towel under your shirt to work your triceps), Box Squat (Squat with a under your bum so you dont go down as far).
Also on this day use some of the machines that you have around your workout room. And do abs.

Tuesday - Run.Run.Run.

Wednsday - Dead lift. Power clean(its where you take the bar when you are standing and pick it up and lift it so its on your chest and put it back down, repeat.How to powerclean. (http://www.lessonplanspage.com/printables/PPEPowerCleanWeightTraining912.htm) Then do the same machines and stuff, and abs.

Thursday - Run,Run,Run.

Friday - Normal Bench, Normal Squat, and the same other machines and stuff and abs.

Not good, you're hitting legs everyday there. You are also neglecting arms, back- I see deadlifts but in my experiance you need more.


I good split would be:

Monday- Chest/triceps
Tuesday- Rest, can do cardio if needed
Wednesday- Back/Biceps
Thursday-Rest
Friday-Legs

Also abs and forearms can be worked every few days, slip tem in where needed.

Does this sound good to anyone else?

[mmettalldemon]

i have advanced p.e. at school so we just lift weights all the time. monday-bench;highpulls;pushpress;pushups:tuesday-squat jumps;squats;curls;abs:wednesday-upright rows;shrugs;shrug&flip;hangclean;jumprope:thursday-bench till failure;tricep stuff;pushups;abs:friday-squat till failure;curls;sprints

[Against Miik!]

Do every one of your exercises on one of those big stability balls you see laying around gyms. It will give you more definition because it works more muscles, and it will also workout your core since you have to balance yourself.

[Swiftystrick]

Not good, you're hitting legs everyday there. You are also neglecting arms, back- I see deadlifts but in my experiance you need more.


I good split would be:

Monday- Chest/triceps
Tuesday- Rest, can do cardio if needed
Wednesday- Back/Biceps
Thursday-Rest
Friday-Legs

Also abs and forearms can be worked every few days, slip tem in where needed.

Does this sound good to anyone else?
It sounds alright but with that much rest, you want to be going hard with every workout. Some people will start to break a sweat right after their first 3 sets. That's a bit overwhelming but you should be sweating and the intensity should be pretty **** high. If you can talk during your exercise, you aren't goign hard enough. I'd add some HIT training or keep all of my rest days active(go for a light walk or play a sport). None of those sit-on-the-couch-and-watch-tv-till you-die days

I would couple back with chest and biceps with triceps. I only say this because it would be easier for a beginner to combine exercises that are relatively the same weight wise, movement wise, and equipment wise. However, if you're feeling up for the challenege of staying organized, go right on ahead. It'll be pretty hectic for a beginner to be jumping from curls to a deadlift though.

[Rats]

I would couple back with chest and biceps with triceps. I only say this because it would be easier for a beginner to combine exercises that are relatively the same weight wise, movement wise, and equipment wise. However, if you're feeling up for the challenege of staying organized, go right on ahead. It'll be pretty hectic for a beginner to be jumping from curls to a deadlift though.

No... chest/triceps and back/biceps go hand in hand. It's much easier to do them on the same days.

[Rats]

Not good, you're hitting legs everyday there. You are also neglecting arms, back- I see deadlifts but in my experiance you need more.


I good split would be:

Monday- Chest/triceps
Tuesday- Rest, can do cardio if needed
Wednesday- Back/Biceps
Thursday-Rest
Friday-Legs

Also abs and forearms can be worked every few days, slip tem in where needed.

Does this sound good to anyone else?


What about weekends? Will you be doing cardio on those days?

[Rats]

Here's my split and it's worked great since I started it in April:

Monday: Back/Biceps/Traps
Tuesday: Legs/Abs
Wednesday: Rest or HIIT cardio
Thursday: Rest or HIIT cardio
Friday: Chest/Delts/Triceps
Saturday: HIIT cardio and Abs
Sunday: HIIT cardio

I give myself up to 2 days of rest in the middle cuz I get really bad DOMS in my legs.

[dancetomdance182]

WTF is a towel bench? I've never heard of it before and it sounds shitty. I say just stick with the regular incline/flat bench and incline flys and also dips.

I guess that emphasizes getting low to a certain point.
I have a question, I heard from my coaches that you get the same benefit from doing a 90 degree bench. Meaning, when you bring your arms down, your forearms and biceps form a 90 degree angle. This was easier, but my coaches said had the same benefits.

[Endless Obsession]

Not good, you're hitting legs everyday there. You are also neglecting arms, back- I see deadlifts but in my experiance you need more.


I good split would be:

Monday- Chest/triceps
Tuesday- Rest, can do cardio if needed
Wednesday- Back/Biceps
Thursday-Rest
Friday-Legs

Also abs and forearms can be worked every few days, slip tem in where needed.

Does this sound good to anyone else?

Thats for football. Thats why the emphasis is on legs. But the arms do get in there.

[wonder_steve]

That's too much emphasis on legs. You are just overtraining them.

[dancetomdance182]

Thats for football. Thats why the emphasis is on legs. But the arms do get in there.

Your doing 2 major muscle groups in 1 day. Which isn't good.
My football program is mostly like this.

Monday: Regular Bench
Tuesday: Box Squat or Regular Squat
Wednesday: Conditioning
Thursday: Bench (3 sets until failure)