22 years old. Ironically, I only noticed it when I started taking pictures of myself for weight training 
sawadeekrob ftw
[quote]sawadeekrob wrote:
I see all these kids that have absolutely no muscle mass doing set after set of inclines, flyes and dips. While they have problems in their squat form, deadlift form and bench press form.
Here is the deal
The Golden 5
Squats
Overhead Presses
Deadlifts
Dips
Chins
Grab the top 3 and do them 3 times per week. You need practice with these movements until you can do them whith your eyes shut!
The last 2 take every friday and do them or do 1 friday 1 additional exercise and next friday do the other one.
Sets and reps ā¦ donāt matter! here is the kicker for your starting weight canāt be more than 12 reps and your last weight set canāt be less than 3 reps.
This means that you will warm up with a weight that you can do 12 reps and keep adding weight until you canāt do a set of 3. You are done for that day.
For eating go home and say that you are becoming a mountain man and will only eat meat, fish and fowl. Go to the grocery and get cream and mix it with raw eggs. Have that for snack whenever you have time.
Be fucking consistent and you will gain 30lbs in the first year. It may not be all muscle, but at your stage there is no way you can gain muscle without some fat.
Why are you afraid of gaining fat?? Are you insecure of your willpower to loose the weight later???
I have said it before and will say it againā¦if you are afraid of fat either inside of you or on you this lifting game is not for you. Do you think you can grow on chicken breasts and boiled rice???
[/quote]
Its all about full body workouts man!
Iāve always put ez curls as one of the toughest exercises. I often throw into a routine because of this.
Itās actually a functional way to work the biceps too as the feet are in contact with the ground. You can modify the effect on your abs as well by changing foot position.
[quote]mr popular wrote:
Your goals and idea of ābig and strongā seem to be very different from the OPās, and I doubt he is looking to create for himself the body you have now.
Which is why I donāt understand how you think the advice youāre giving is applicable.[/quote]
Let me guess, this is how you think
And unless you know me personally, you have no idea what kind of physique I have. I have one picture of my back up. When I go to a commercial gym, I look more like a bodybuilder than the majority of people who claim to be just that. But you must have it all figured out, youāve been training for a year.
Good luck
Why the hell does everybody seem to have this mindset lately, where they want to group everybody into these extreme categories?
Just because I disagree with your (incorrect) way of thinking means I must be way over on the other side of the scale?
Iām pretty sure Iāve made it clear that gaining muscle and gaining strength are directly related, and that the basics are critically important.
But your version of the ābasicsā stems from an entirely different perspective from the what the OP is trying to accomplish.
He seems to be trying to get bigger all over, and avoid imbalances caused by his scoliosis.
So I would say the basics in this instance would be solid exercises covering the ENTIRE body (not just the muscle groups that T-Nation āstrength coachesā have deemed to be the only important onesā¦), and not so much bar work.
I consider DB/BB curls, calf raises, and lateral raises to be very BASIC in creating a balanced physiqueā¦ AS WELL AS bench pressing, rowing, squatting, and the bigger movements.
Does this shit really need to be stated so often?? Shouldnāt this be common sense by now, in a bodybuilding website?
Do you honestly believe a person will develop without imbalances focusing solely on exercises meant for the legs (mostly hips), chest, and back?
Do you really believe exercises that are meant to also strengthen smaller muscle groups will hinder progress?
Have you realized yet that you are wrong?
[quote]mr popular wrote:
.
Which is why I donāt understand how you think the advice youāre giving is applicable.[/quote]
I know this wasnāt directed at me, but what do you think a big and strong guy who is lean looks like?
[quote]mr popular wrote:
But your version of the ābasicsā stems from an entirely different perspective from the what the OP is trying to accomplish.[/quote]
I thought he was trying to get big and strong. No?
[quote]
He seems to be trying to get bigger all over, and avoid imbalances caused by his scoliosis.[/quote]
Show me someone who squats 600lbs, benches 405, and deadlifts over 500 that is small all over.
[quote]
So I would say the basics in this instance would be solid exercises covering the ENTIRE body (not just the muscle groups that T-Nation āstrength coachesā have deemed to be the only important onesā¦), and not so much bar work.[/quote]
I donāt give 2 shits what coaches say. I also never said everything had to be bar work. You canāt overhead press with dumbbells, bench or do rows with them either? How exactly is a pullup a barbell exercise?
[quote]
Do you honestly believe a person will develop without imbalances focusing solely on exercises meant for the legs (mostly hips), chest, and back?
Do you really believe exercises that are meant to also strengthen smaller muscle groups will hinder progress?[/quote]
I never said not to do anything else. But your program whatever should be based around the big lifts, heavy. If you want to throw some curls and shit in on the end knock yourself out.
no
What I have realized is you are the typical internet lifter. Youāve been working out less than a year, but you read a bunch of stuff online so you are now an expert in something you have not achieved.
I wonāt be responding to you again, so have fun
[quote]mattwray wrote:
I never said not to do anything else. But your program whatever should be based around the big lifts, heavy. If you want to throw some curls and shit in on the end knock yourself out.
[/quote]
Isnāt that what iām doing? Each one of my days has one Big Lift at the start, i.e Deadlift, Bench, Military Press, Squat.
[quote]scottiscool wrote:
I know this wasnāt directed at me, but what do you think a big and strong guy who is lean looks like?[/quote]
Obviously they would look muscular.
As I have already stated, I donāt think anyone is recommending a person avoid the basics, or NOT train to be much stronger.
What do you think a person would look like who limited themselves only to exercises for hips, chest, and back when they are very lean?
What if that person more thoroughly worked out their legs, and did direct arm, and calf work? Would they look worse, or even the same? No, obviously they would look much better, and wouldnāt have OBVIOUS imbalances from purposefully avoiding entire muscle groups.
[quote]skinner84 wrote:
mattwray wrote:
I never said not to do anything else. But your program whatever should be based around the big lifts, heavy. If you want to throw some curls and shit in on the end knock yourself out.
Isnāt that what iām doing? Each one of my days has one Big Lift at the start, i.e Deadlift, Bench, Military Press, Squat.[/quote]
If you look back to my first post, I just said to squat more and eat more. Your program doesnāt look bad to me, but I would do another squat day. And shovel food down like theres no tomorrow.
Give it a try for 3-6 weeks and evaluate how you are doing. If you are gaining and getting stronger, stick with it. If you are not, you need to make an adjustment.
From my experience I would say be careful in adding another squat day.
Being under the bar twice a week makes it very hard to recover, especially if you start off quite skinny.
If you do want to do more legs, I would say adding in another day similar to what JoeDefranco suggested in WS4SB3, then you could perhaps build up to back squatting twice a week.
I am actually going to be of some use in this thread now ok.
[quote]skinner84 wrote:
Weaknesses: [/quote] Full body, fixed that [quote]
Tuesday (Back and biceps)
Deadlift - 3x10 70kg (155lb) - Weak I know, trying to nail my form before I start increasing the weight too much
Unassisted chin ups - 3x8
Bent Over Barbell Rows - 3x8-12 50kg (110lbs)
Wide Grip Chins - 3x4-6 (Need to work on these)[/quote]
Maybe think about replacing the second variation of chins with a dumbbell row
[quote]
Wednesday Off
Thursday (Shoulders)
Standing Military Press 3x8 40kg (88lbs)
Seated Bent Over Dumbell Raise - 3x8-12 10kgs (22lbs)
Seated Lateral raise - 3 x8-12 10kgs (22lbs)
Standing Front Raises - 3 x 8-12 12.5 kgs (28lbs)[/quote]
No need for front raises, either use another press lateral or rear delt movement if you need one
You need to balance out the hamstring work with quad work here. In addition to leg curls either add in some stiff leg deads or do your leg presses with your feet very high(toes off platform) and wide to activate the hamstrings primarily.
When I suggested unilateral work I primarily mean using dumbbells when possible. Dumbbell press instead of bench for example. Stop when your non dominant side fails.
I think I know the true cause of your imbalance though. After careful thought and observation itās obviously the power of the bracelets throwing you off balance, wear them on your left wrist for a while to bring back some symmetry or split them up 50/50.
What else do you do when your not working out? run, construction, perhaps your calories are going elsewhere?
To be honest you can do 3 total body workouts a week and gain alot more mass when eating then what you have now.
First thing you need to conquer though is your sickness. You need to find out why you are getting sick so much, whether its your workout, your stress, your job, who your around, your sleep. As long as your sick y our gains will always slow down.
Once you get that down you need to get some kind of consistency going. Say after next week you wonāt ask anymore questions about your program until youāve done a consistent routine week after week for 2 months. Never miss a workout. Theres no real excuse you have, theres people that had it 10x harder so plan and make it to every single workout.
While your being consistent you should work on progression. Every workout up a rep, if you canāt up a rep up a weight, if you canāt up a weight up the number of sets.
This last one should be first but up your concentration. You look like the many people I see in the gym that just walk through a workout, never focusing on the exercise or feeling the muscle. Different levels of concentration allow you to push yourself harder. Advanced trainees do this naturally, so they donāt have to set up first. Beginners on the other hand should take a few seconds before every set vision what your going to do what muscle is going to do it.
Once this is done analyze what you did for the last 2 months whether you gained weight or not, how much of it was muscle and how much strength you have gained.
You also have to realize that during the beginning beginning phases(hopefully your passed this) your strength gains will come from your body learning hos to do the exercises and not necessarily gaining muscle. Muscles can move alot of weight and your going to have to either lift much heavier weight or more volume before you start getting really huge.
I see your program and itās not horrible but I donāt think its great for a beginner like you. Your āmildā scioliosis i donāt think its something to fret about at this point. I can be wrong and if you dissagree then so be it, but personally I think you just need to worry about getting lots of muscle.
[quote]mr popular wrote:
.
What do you think a person would look like who limited themselves only to exercises for hips, chest, and back when they are very lean?
.[/quote]
Who suggested this? But if you are implying that someone who trains for powerlifting(for years) and then diets down will have these incredible imbalances then Iāve got about 10 examples off the top of my head that can show otherwise. Do you have examples of large powerlifters who dieted down and didnāt look like tanks?
[quote]scottiscool wrote:
I am actually going to be of some use in this thread now ok.
skinner84 wrote:
Weaknesses: Full body, fixed that
Tuesday (Back and biceps)
Deadlift - 3x10 70kg (155lb) - Weak I know, trying to nail my form before I start increasing the weight too much
Unassisted chin ups - 3x8
Bent Over Barbell Rows - 3x8-12 50kg (110lbs)
Wide Grip Chins - 3x4-6 (Need to work on these)
Maybe think about replacing the second variation of chins with a dumbbell row
Wednesday Off
Thursday (Shoulders)
Standing Military Press 3x8 40kg (88lbs)
Seated Bent Over Dumbell Raise - 3x8-12 10kgs (22lbs)
Seated Lateral raise - 3 x8-12 10kgs (22lbs)
Standing Front Raises - 3 x 8-12 12.5 kgs (28lbs)
No need for front raises, either use another press lateral or rear delt movement if you need one
Friday (Legs)
Squats 3x8 80kgs (176lbs)
Seated Calf Raises not sure on weight yet
Leg Press 3x8 200kgs (440lbs)
Leg Curls not sure on weight or reps yet
You need to balance out the hamstring work with quad work here. In addition to leg curls either add in some stiff leg deads or do your leg presses with your feet very high(toes off platform) and wide to activate the hamstrings primarily.
When I suggested unilateral work I primarily mean using dumbbells when possible. Dumbbell press instead of bench for example. Stop when your non dominant side fails.
I think I know the true cause of your imbalance though. After careful thought and observation itās obviously the power of the bracelets throwing you off balance, wear them on your left wrist for a while to bring back some symmetry or split them up 50/50.
[/quote]
Hahahaha I lolād at that last bit, nice man. Regarding your exercise advice, I now know what you mean with Unilateral, and iāll replace stuff like bench with and wide grip chins with dumbells like you said. Iām doing my shoulders today and iāve been thinking about what to replace my front raises with. Maybe seated dumbell press? Or Cable Lateral raises?
Does anyone have any comments on my diet? Noones said anything yet so iām assuming itās ok? Iām going to stick to this routine for about 2 months like you guys have been saying, iāll post an update each week if I can.
To Airtruth, I went and saw the doctor about my sickness thing and he said itās probably more a statistical thing than anything i.e. i was just unlucky this year. Personally I think it was to do with my Work Environment - I work in an office, and it can be stressful sometimes.
I also go to the gym in my Lunch Break so when I get back to the Office iām breathing heavier, and my body is exhausted so iām probably catching stuff that way. Itās Summer here now and I havenāt been sick for about 2 months now.
Thanks for the advice on concentration, iāll try all that today. I donāt think iām the type youāre thinking of, I donāt fuck around when itās gym time, but I can always get better I guess. I thought this thread had turned into a shit fight but now itās back on track. Cheers for all the replies fellas
okay for eating, you might have to eat more, honestly its crazy but true.
if you do all that math shit in the Berardiās massive eating, 3000 cals will make you grow while trianing heavy maybe up to 160lbs, MAYBE.
im 165 and i need 3500 just to maintain. i need over 4000 to grow.
somebody who is 200lbs muscular is easily eating over 5000 calories per day, easily.
this means you might have to eat dirtier, if you are an ectomorph to begin with , and training HEAVY and HARD with COMPOUNDS then its gonna minimal fat gain, dont worry about it, it takes like 1 - 2 months to cut that fat off, it takes 5 years or more to get very strong.
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
First thing you need to conquer though is your sickness. You need to find out why you are getting sick so much, whether its your workout, your stress, your job, who your around, your sleep. As long as your sick y our gains will always slow down. [/quote]
This is Skinnerās boss posting (he linked the thread to me) and heās not getting enough sleep in my opinion, which is compounded by heavy drinking on weekends. If he has a weak immune system already (if such a thing exists) then the issue is being compounded by lifting and partying.
Iām not saying lifting is bad (I have been lifting for 12 months to lose fat, down ~35lb, need to lose about 6-10lb more to hit my lean target) but it does take its toll on your body and without enough time to recover (sleep), your health will suffer.
Also, get back to work Skinner!
[quote]mattwray wrote:
no
What I have realized is you are the typical internet lifter.
[/quote]
lol
[quote]WarmForYourForm wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
First thing you need to conquer though is your sickness. You need to find out why you are getting sick so much, whether its your workout, your stress, your job, who your around, your sleep. As long as your sick y our gains will always slow down.
This is Skinnerās boss posting (he linked the thread to me) and heās not getting enough sleep in my opinion, which is compounded by heavy drinking on weekends. If he has a weak immune system already (if such a thing exists) then the issue is being compounded by lifting and partying.
Iām not saying lifting is bad (I have been lifting for 12 months to lose fat, down ~35lb, need to lose about 6-10lb more to hit my lean target) but it does take its toll on your body and without enough time to recover (sleep), your health will suffer.
Also, get back to work Skinner!
[/quote]
I think this is a first that Iāve seen someones boss posting on here about them and since itās your first post welcome. Now we are getting somewhere though, if I wanted a recipe to get sick Iād overtrain in the gym undereat and then drink my face off a couple times a week. Being sick at least once a month would not be a surprise.
If he chooses to still drink heavily than training canāt be pushed as hard and or as often as he would if he had full recovery available. So Skinner hopefully you chime back in on if you think this is having a dramatic effect on you and what sort of changes that might need to be made to accomodate/fix it.