I started weight lifting towards the end of april and have had an on and off relationship with weight lifting due to personal issues and the thought that I was failing. I guess I am a tad bit intimidated by my family’s genetics. I have always been the smaller one. I went 3 1/2 weeks straight without lifting, stared at a full tub of whey for all this time, dropped my diet and ate maybe 3 meals a day. Sometimes 4. Which is definitely a poor diet. So, in total, I have only lifted for 4 weeks. Maybe 5 at the max (with proper diet). My right bicep has grown a 1/2 inch, my left has grown a tad bit under a 1/2 inch. My chest has grown 1 1/2 inches. went from 35 to 36 1/2. And my shoulders grew half an inch from 17 to 17 1/2(lacking there). My legs are visibly more toned and my calves look bigger (not sure how much they grew, never measured when I first started). I did this without any supplements. My weight is still the same, 125. So I imagine I must have lost some body fat since I have gains and am the same wieght. I personally do not feel like I have put on any size (which partially has to do with the on and off relationship) but the measuring tape says other wise. Are these results good? I am back to weight lifting and am definitely not going to quit now that I see I was I was giving up for nothing.
ite man im not gonna rip u apart im gonna help you
#1 dont measure yourself right now you dont need to know that ur chest might have grown 1/2’’ biceps 3/4’’ ect…you need to gain 20 pounds overall and then youll see results
#2 you need to eat much more every 2 hrs. eat clean meals with protein and carbs every meal and dont forget about fat
#3 dont do isolation movements/ dont overtrain
-12 sets max! and heavy lfits like deadlift, squat,bench, row,
#4 iether stick with it or dont…start from scratch again forget that you were on and off and go for it and dont stop
#5 take 2 days off a week and rest and get tat least 8 hrs a sleep a night
#6 keep you reps low 4-8 dont do any bullshit like 15 …10…8…6
-your muscles will grow when u add heavier weight each week and continue to add weight or get more reps with that weight
remember train like a beast …but dont over train…EAT EAT EAT EAT keep EATING YES more …REST …EAT EAT EAT…DONT over train…REPS LOW …go as heavy as possible keep good form.
i already do nearly all of the things you have said. deadlift, squat,bench, rows, military press, and pull downs. Only thing I dont do is the 12 sets of 4-8…i do 5x12 of each exercise.
That’s too much. 5x5 at the most, and HEAVY. Gain the strength first, then up your reps to somewhere around twelve for a few weeks, then go back HEAVY.
I was in your shoes. I graduated high school at 145lbs. The harder I worked to put on muscle, the skinnier I got. It’s because I was overtraining. Keep the workouts short and simple and heavy. Eat. Sleep. Drink water.
[quote]Dstruct wrote:
I started weight lifting towards the end of april and have had an on and off relationship with weight lifting due to personal issues and the thought that I was failing. I guess I am a tad bit intimidated by my family’s genetics. I have always been the smaller one. I went 3 1/2 weeks straight without lifting, stared at a full tub of whey for all this time, dropped my diet and ate maybe 3 meals a day. Sometimes 4. Which is definitely a poor diet. So, in total, I have only lifted for 4 weeks. Maybe 5 at the max (with proper diet). My right bicep has grown a 1/2 inch, my left has grown a tad bit under a 1/2 inch. My chest has grown 1 1/2 inches. went from 35 to 36 1/2. And my shoulders grew half an inch from 17 to 17 1/2(lacking there). My legs are visibly more toned and my calves look bigger (not sure how much they grew, never measured when I first started). I did this without any supplements. My weight is still the same, 125. So I imagine I must have lost some body fat since I have gains and am the same wieght. I personally do not feel like I have put on any size (which partially has to do with the on and off relationship) but the measuring tape says other wise. Are these results good? I am back to weight lifting and am definitely not going to quit now that I see I was I was giving up for nothing.[/quote]
Dstruct, one thing to remember about the weightlifting game is its a LONG-TERM endeavour. For the results that iwll have you shaking you head in disbelife from what you accomplished is through constiency, determination, and a whole lot of plain ol fashioned hard work (and proper nutrition of course). Keep your head up and keep doing the damn thing
[quote]Dstruct wrote:
i already do nearly all of the things you have said. deadlift, squat,bench, rows, military press, and pull downs. Only thing I dont do is the 12 sets of 4-8…i do 5x12 of each exercise. [/quote]
I absolutely hate anything over 10 reps (8 for lower body). As said before, stay with the lower reps. Not only do they build strength, but a lot of muscle is built on lower reps too. Plus, when you do a lot of high reps movements, your form tends to become more sloppy, and that’s when injuries happen.
Thanks for the comments.
Jay, you got a point there. However I have to slim down lol I am at around 17% bodyfat. But I wouldn’t want to slim down from weight lifting. I will lower my reps.
Yup ukrainian, you are right. About a week ago, after finishing the last set of squats, when i went to put the bar down, it slipped out of my hands (first time that has happened). Luckily I put on plastic plates instead of the iron or else my cement would have cracked.
I wouldn’t worry too much about body fat right now. If you kept the same amount of fat (21lbs), but gained thirty pounds of muscle to go with it, you’d be at 13% bf.
I disagree with toohungry on one point only. I’d keep a record of those measurements. When you feel like you’re not making any progress, it’ll give you some confidence to see how far you’ve come. Just don’t beat yourself up over the details.
Good point. The only reason I haven’t gained any weight is probably because when I weight lift, the next day I jog and run for 45 minutes. But the body fat comment is a good point. I was looking at pictures and profiles yesterday and saw people posting that they were around 12-13% body fat and I was thinking, how could that be? If these people in the pictures look like they have as much fat as me, some appear to have even more.
I will continue to take measurements atleast once a month. Especially now that I am taking whey. I am interested to see how much of a difference whey really makes.
The whey will almost definitely help, but remember that it’s a supplement. You have to eat enough good healthy food as well.
Fuck the 12 reps and the 5 sets
you should be doing 9-12 total sets a body part
eachs set maximum intesity which means low reps heavier weight
do that and eat and youll grow
Please eat some food…Although you sound like you’re afraid to gain fat, even though you are only 125 pounds, you have to be eating enough to actually be putting on weight.
Experiment a bit, whether that be keeping a food log, eating larger/smaller portions, or throwing some fast food into the mix. Try to aim for putting on roughly a pound a week. Do not be afraid to put on some more fat, which will most likely accompany your muscle gain. Just use common sense. If you find that you’re putting on nothing but fat then ease up on the calories a bit and try to find how much food your body best responds to.
Expect this to take a while for you to find your “zone”.
Just make sure you train hard and eat using common sense.
[quote]Bedard18 wrote:
Please eat some food…Although you sound like you’re afraid to gain fat, even though you are only 125 pounds, you have to be eating enough to actually be putting on weight.
Experiment a bit, whether that be keeping a food log, eating larger/smaller portions, or throwing some fast food into the mix. Try to aim for putting on roughly a pound a week. Do not be afraid to put on some more fat, which will most likely accompany your muscle gain. Just use common sense. If you find that you’re putting on nothing but fat then ease up on the calories a bit and try to find how much food your body best responds to.
Expect this to take a while for you to find your “zone”.
Just make sure you train hard and eat using common sense.
[/quote]
good advice here. 2x on the food log. I thought i must be eating a ton, started a foodlog, found out it wasn’t nearly as much as i thought. Upped calories to 3000-4000 daily, have put on 15lbs so far.
[quote]toohungry wrote:
Fuck the 12 reps and the 5 sets
you should be doing 9-12 total sets a body part
eachs set maximum intesity which means low reps heavier weight
do that and eat and youll grow[/quote]
What is your training age?
The original posters training age is measured in weeks not years. Do you feel comfortable giving a beginner advanced lifter advice?
[quote]Dstruct wrote:
I started weight lifting towards the end of april and have had an on and off relationship with weight lifting due to personal issues and the thought that I was failing. I guess I am a tad bit intimidated by my family’s genetics. I have always been the smaller one. I went 3 1/2 weeks straight without lifting, stared at a full tub of whey for all this time, dropped my diet and ate maybe 3 meals a day. Sometimes 4. Which is definitely a poor diet. So, in total, I have only lifted for 4 weeks. Maybe 5 at the max (with proper diet). My right bicep has grown a 1/2 inch, my left has grown a tad bit under a 1/2 inch. My chest has grown 1 1/2 inches. went from 35 to 36 1/2. And my shoulders grew half an inch from 17 to 17 1/2(lacking there). My legs are visibly more toned and my calves look bigger (not sure how much they grew, never measured when I first started). I did this without any supplements. My weight is still the same, 125. So I imagine I must have lost some body fat since I have gains and am the same wieght. I personally do not feel like I have put on any size (which partially has to do with the on and off relationship) but the measuring tape says other wise. Are these results good? I am back to weight lifting and am definitely not going to quit now that I see I was I was giving up for nothing.[/quote]
Put the measuring tape down, pick up a steak and eat the fu(k out of it.
You’ve been at it for a few weeks so if you look any better you’ve made progress. Measure again in a year after lifting and eating consistently.
[quote]905Patrick wrote:
toohungry wrote:
Fuck the 12 reps and the 5 sets
you should be doing 9-12 total sets a body part
eachs set maximum intesity which means low reps heavier weight
do that and eat and youll grow
What is your training age?
The original posters training age is measured in weeks not years. Do you feel comfortable giving a beginner advanced lifter advice?[/quote]
it doesn’t matter if hes a beginner or been lifting for years…he should not be measuring the progress he has made in that minimal amount of time. And he shouldn’t be doing reps of 12 he will see zero growth if he does that. Muscle grows by overloading it with heavy weight not by giving it easy light weight that wont over load or shock your muscle fibers.
are you really experienced enough to know the only thing that works?
its not brain science the heavier weights you lift the more you’ll grow.
18 years old. 5 foot 10 inches. 163lbs.
I’m afraid we may be dealing with an expert.
Actually toohungry… the more food you eat, the more you’ll grow. You might want to try it.
And whoever told you that you can’t get stronger in the 8-12 rep range?
You can.
::EDIT::
LOL at “brain science”.
i never said you cant get stronger by doing 8-12
im saying if he does lower reps with heavier weight he will see growth faster then if he did higher reps