Gym Workout Help.

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hey I recently found these forums and I?ve been reading through the posts and the information?s been great. I just wanted to find out a few things.

First of all I?m 170cm tall, 18 years old and weigh in at around 73-74kg. (How do I find my body fat %?)

The goal I initially set off with was to lose weight and sculpt a fit and impressive body. So far I?ve been walking in the mornings before breakfast. (4 times a week x30minutes) Along with the occasional skipping (4 times a week x 20-30minutes)

I was hoping this would be enough to burn off the fat in my stomach, (in prep for some ab building) lose some arm fat and facial fat.

Now my ideal goal body wise is Brad Pitt from Troy/ Rey Renolds (sp?) from Blade 3.

Now I?ve been going to the gym for around 3-4 months and while I see some general improvement it seems very slow compared to other people, but I don?t really mind as long as I can see some improvements?of course it?d be nicer if it was faster.

I think I can say my technique in general is pretty good as I had help in getting the correct form for a few weeks when I was starting out.

Now what I usually do at the gym is a split just a little more messed up. It goes as follows:

Mon: chest
Tues: shoulder
Wed: back
Thurs: rest
Fri: rest
Sat: chest

(It pretty much is a repeat of chest, shoulders, back and 2 rest days over and over regardless of the day. Sunday is the day off always)

Now at this point I?d like to say I?m a university student and I also take my studies very seriously so when I came to these forums I was looking for something that?d be effective and yet not too time consuming thus I?ve opted to go for the total body workout posted by Chad Waterbury.

Now I just wanted to find out, I?m 170cm tall at 18 years of age and ideally id like to squeeze out as many cm as I can left in me at this point so I was very worried that leg exercises would stunt my growth.

Would daily bike riding and skipping/walking be enough of a workout instead of the weight training for the legs?

Also what?s better for me to reach my goal in terms of effectiveness between the TBW and the 3 day split? As mentioned above those images are like my goals.

Oh before I forget my diet is pretty stable, with little to no ?junk/trashy? foods. (Apart from the occasional party)

So in clarification, I don?t want to use weight based exercises for my legs as I?m afraid they?ll stunt any further growth and is the TBW with the fat burning effective enough as opposed to the 3-day split. (BTW. I heard in my case to reach my ideal it?d be better for me to go more reps with not as heavy weights, as opposed to high weights low reps. True?)

That?s all I can think of right now?any input would be great. I?m sorry about the long post?didn?t think it?d end up this long. Thanks~

2

#1 welcome

#2 quit selling yourself short train your legs no biking hiking etc aint going to cut it, no you arent going to stunt your growth and are more likely strong musculature structure built

Your legs make up near half your body build em, not to mention most of your big compounds will go a long way to building the rest of your body and those precious abs

[quote]int3l wrote:
Hey I recently found these forums and I?ve been reading through the posts and the information?s been great. I just wanted to find out a few things.

First of all I?m 170cm tall, 18 years old and weigh in at around 73-74kg. (How do I find my body fat %?)[/quote]
go to gym and get a skin fold test done by a qualified person.

[quote]
The goal I initially set off with was to lose weight and sculpt a fit and impressive body. So far I?ve been walking in the mornings before breakfast. (4 times a week x30minutes) Along with the occasional skipping (4 times a week x 20-30minutes)

I was hoping this would be enough to burn off the fat in my stomach, (in prep for some ab building) lose some arm fat and facial fat.

Now my ideal goal body wise is Brad Pitt from Troy/ Rey Renolds (sp?) from Blade 3.

Now I?ve been going to the gym for around 3-4 months and while I see some general improvement it seems very slow compared to other people, but I don?t really mind as long as I can see some improvements?of course it?d be nicer if it was faster.

I think I can say my technique in general is pretty good as I had help in getting the correct form for a few weeks when I was starting out.

Now what I usually do at the gym is a split just a little more messed up. It goes as follows:

Mon: chest
Tues: shoulder
Wed: back
Thurs: rest
Fri: rest
Sat: chest

(It pretty much is a repeat of chest, shoulders, back and 2 rest days over and over regardless of the day. Sunday is the day off always)[/quote]

this really doesnt tell us a thing what do you do in the gym.

[quote]
Now at this point I?d like to say I?m a university student and I also take my studies very seriously so when I came to these forums I was looking for something that?d be effective and yet not too time consuming thus I?ve opted to go for the total body workout posted by Chad Waterbury. [/quote]
great choice

[quote]
Now I just wanted to find out, I?m 170cm tall at 18 years of age and ideally id like to squeeze out as many cm as I can left in me at this point so I was very worried that leg exercises would stunt my growth.

Would daily bike riding and skipping/walking be enough of a workout instead of the weight training for the legs? [/quote]
terrible idea, do the program. this is the same as those ppl that dont wana get huge fear not the lifting and working HARD. hiking biking etc sure itll help make you conditioned burn some calorie but hell your light right now. work your whole body.

[quote]
Also what?s better for me to reach my goal in terms of effectiveness between the TBW and the 3 day split? As mentioned above those images are like my goals. [/quote] to choose between those two TBT for damn sure with the legs

also your limited time, seemingly limited drive dedication, TBT is the way go go big bang for the buck go in bust ass get out.

For body comp fat loss getting a solid initial base IMO you cant beat total body (including legs)training. It creates a huge EPOC and just large bag for the buck

best of luck get going on a solid plan and stick to it long term
ask any ? needed

Phill

sorry i edited it to read better

3

hmm…well guess i’m going to have to start working those legs. however i don’t have much on an idea of how to actually go around doing the deadlift/squat so can i jsut use that machine that makes you puch up against all the weights you’ve stacked?

another thing, 3-day split or the TBW? i’m having so many second thoughts on the TBW cause i’m jsut so used to the 3-day split. However i’m thinking of changing the 3-day split to be more like the ones i’ve read on the forums here, like:

mon: chest/triceps
wed: back/bicep
fri: shoulder/legs

abs…later.

any idea in regards to the high weights/low rep vs the low rep/high weights? keeping in mind i want to be more ‘cut’ i guess, like those 2 images.

4

hey sorry about the double posting. i didn’t see the stuff you added to the grey text.

ok so TBW(TBT?)is a good bang for the buck (i’m assuming my body will stay in the shape as long as i keep at it)

and i DO NOT want to get huge. i realize this is a body bulding forum and there are probably huge guys in here but i don’t want to go to body building comps etc. like i said my goal image was those 2 guys. thanks~

5

[quote]int3l wrote:
hmm…well guess i’m going to have to start working those legs. however i don’t have much on an idea of how to actually go around doing the deadlift/squat so can i jsut use that machine that makes you puch up against all the weights you’ve stacked?
[/quote]

no not in my opionin and why, why not take the simple time to learn them instead of ddging them ?? just saying

[quote]
another thing, 3-day split or the TBW? i’m having so many second thoughts on the TBW cause i’m jsut so used to the 3-day split. However i’m thinking of changing the 3-day split to be more like the ones i’ve read on the forums here, like:

mon: chest/triceps
wed: back/bicep
fri: shoulder/legs

abs…later.

any idea in regards to the high weights/low rep vs the low rep/high weights? keeping in mind i want to be more ‘cut’ i guess, like those 2 images. [/quote]

Sure do a split dont main thing work hard and work you legs still think total body will do you good. there upper lower. Push, pull, legs. various larger split they all will require you to work hard and i give legs due attention

look at your arms, now look at you legs, which do ya think deserve more attention, makes up more of the body, supports more weight and growth of other muscles?

lift heavy lift moderate lift light dont ignore any rep scheme in totality. use them all if ya dont wanna get huge lift heavy lower rep and mainly dont eat to grow. Youll get strong, dense, etc

Phill

6

[quote]int3l wrote:
hey sorry about the double posting. i didn’t see the stuff you added to the grey text.

ok so TBW(TBT?)is a good bang for the buck (i’m assuming my body will stay in the shape as long as i keep at it)

and i DO NOT want to get huge. i realize this is a body bulding forum and there are probably huge guys in here but i don’t want to go to body building comps etc. like i said my goal image was those 2 guys. thanks~[/quote]

no worries my fault

lol in shape much better better then spending an entire day on shoulders. Go do a shoulder w/o HARD, then go do say a session just three exercises, squat, bench, bent over rows. tell me which tested you more

:slight_smile: ill PM you my PH # if you want that way when you all the sudden get sickly huge you can call me ill fly where ever it is you are and personally help you get un swole. In the mean time go to the gym and bust ass every day for 3-4 years :slight_smile:

huge, you just dont wake up huge and with your outlook ill be honest you got no worries You need to go busty ass be consistent and stop worrying about to big it dont just happen

not trying to be a dick just set ya straight bro, that attitude and lack of fire, willingness to do what it takes and crazy fear of gettin huge is not helping you be more than average

best of luck fire any questions
Phill

7

Nicely done Phill. For sure, TBT all the way. It’s an extremely effective program, IF you put some willpower and drive into it.

Look man, we’re not all bodybuilders here. We got martial artists, powerlifters (both heavy and light weight classes), strongmen/women, and others. One thing in common we all bust our asses day in and day out for years on end.

Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk. Look him up. He’s ripped and muscled, but still lean. How many hours a week do you think he trains to be that way and perform to his level? I’ll answer for you–it’s in the double digits, easily.

You don’t just wake up one day and be huge. With a mindset of fear and putting limits on yourself you will never acccomplish your goal. Not trying to piss on you or be a dick, but really, you need to realize it will take years and years of hard heavy lifting and eating 4000+ calories a day (probably much more than that) to get “huge”.

Just do it. Just work. Think about it–wouldn’t you rather get to your goal as fast as you can, and then just maintain that goal? Well guess what, the exercises and weights and food that build muscle the fastest will get you to your goal fastest, and it’ll still take years to get there.

Why take a slower route out of fear? That’s dumb. Once again, I apologize if this seems harsh or mean.

8

yeah, lol thanks for the info. i guess i’ll jsut go with the TBT + leg workouts. i’ll watch some tutorial video’s on the net and see how it’s done and ask around at the gym. (for the leg work)Anyway, guess i have to consistently go at it and hopefully i won’t wake up and suddenly realize i’m huge…lol.

btw in regards to the TBT + leg work. if i’m walking/jogging skipping in the morning while doing the TBT + leg work, won’t that like kill my legs?

edit: btw thanks for the ‘reality’ i don’t really like it when people sugar coat stuff, i mean if i’m doing something wrong or my mindset isn’t with it i’d rather someone tell me to get my head out of the sand and start moving my ass. none of it’s harsh, thanks really~

9

[quote]int3l wrote:
yeah, lol thanks for the info. i guess i’ll jsut go with the TBT + leg workouts. i’ll watch some tutorial video’s on the net and see how it’s done and ask around at the gym. (for the leg work)Anyway, guess i have to consistently go at it and hopefully i won’t wake up and suddenly realize i’m huge…lol.

btw in regards to the TBT + leg work. if i’m walking/jogging skipping in the morning while doing the TBT + leg work, won’t that like kill my legs? [/quote]

Good go kick some ass

bro ppl work there legs all the time and jog, run, sprint etc. Great one sprinters they squat etc, football players, me no excuses go do it lol

oh and yes likely you will have leg pain for quite some time you have seemingly never worked your legs, youll adapt

Phill

10

truth be told i started my leg’s 2 days ago and i still feel the pain in my ass/hamstring and calves. lol.

btw on average how long should you spent in the gym with either a 3-day split workout or the TBT?

11

Well, Chad’s TBT plan tells you how long you should rest between sets, so you can figure out almost to the minute how long you are supposed to spend in the weight room. I do TBT with a friend and we’re done within an hour.

12

mind if i ask you, does it work as well as a 3 day split?

13

Just do the program as its set up, a split is not a TBT routine CW’s program tells you what exercises to do each day so you won’t have to worry about it

14

[quote]int3l wrote:
mind if i ask you, does it work as well as a 3 day split? [/quote]

It works better than a 3 day split with no leg work.

15

Read this whole thread… a few times:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1027723

16

[quote]int3l wrote:
and i DO NOT want to get huge. ~[/quote]

most people train there butts off and dont get huge, so I wouldnt worry to much about that.

17

Yeah, watch out for the instant huge syndrome. Itll getcha. I knew this idiot who tried doing regular squats one day and he woke up the next morning because his bed had broken because he had gained like 130 lbs in under a minute and his loft couldnt take the sudden strain. He completely ruined his chances of ever looking like Brad Pitt in fight club.

One more thing…

Skipping?

18

No problem. When I started leg work I was seriously sore for about a week straight after a workout for the first month. So basically, I limped constantly for a month. But my body got used to it, and now I’m fine. I wouldn’t sprint when you’re sore, but walking/jogging/light running is all fine.

Just remember, being afraid of overtraining from the beginning is a good way to never grow at all. To tell you the truth, when I started training I’d never even heard the word “overtraining”, even as much as I read T-Mag and other stuff. If I had, I’d probably have been too worried about overtraining to actually push myself enough to make progress. Not as many people overtrain as we are lead to believe, even though it is a problem. Most people just under-eat in hopes of getting the six pack abs. They need to realize you can’t flex bone. Only muscle looks good. You can handle a LOT more volume and pain than you think. It’s all about what you’ve conditioned your body to handle. It will grow accustomed to the volume you throw at it, as long as there are breaks in between high volume cycles to let it recover (in other words, the recovery week everyone talks about).

19

[quote]fightingtiger wrote:
Yeah, watch out for the instant huge syndrome. Itll getcha. I knew this idiot who tried doing regular squats one day and he woke up the next morning because his bed had broken because he had gained like 130 lbs in under a minute and his loft couldnt take the sudden strain. He completely ruined his chances of ever looking like Brad Pitt in fight club.

One more thing…

Skipping?[/quote]

dahahaha

20

skipping…you know…jump rope? lol

and yeah guess i was a bit of an idiot with the whole instant huge growth thing. anyway i’m going to hit the gym with the TBT and take a picture log of my progress every month.

i’ve got warboss helping me out with my diet and other general fitness help as well.

we’ll see how it goes then ay.