Well he doesnt have to go to the heavy reps right away but pyramid building is a good rep routine to get started out with but yeah u dont have to go with low reps, if ur just starting out u should go 12, 10, 8 for everything maybe even lighter but once ur mucsles get used to the lifting then start doing heavy reps, its either u go hard or go home when ur in the heavy reps.

Generally a static amount is better for muscle memory, however, if you need to break a plateau or something, I'd suggest drop sets. That is, you start your first set with the heaviest amount you can, then lift to failure (up to 12 reps), and then drop by 20 pounds. So let's say you're doing a 100-lb bench. You'd do 12 reps or rep to failure up to a max of 12 reps, and then drop it down to 80 pounds. Repeat, and then drop it to 60. Repeat, and then drop it to 40, and finish.

Anyway...

I love my new olympic barbell set, but I need an iron bar stand so i can do squats, because having to clean & press the weight before I even actually can squat it causes a lot more exertion of energy and thus makes me more tired. The deadlifts are ace, though. That, and I'll probably get a lighter barbell for things like curls and such, because trying to use an olympic barbell doing that is ridiculous, plus the olympic barbell weighs like 25-35 pounds.

At 9/8/07 11:47 PM, Buddhist wrote: Generally a static amount is better for muscle memory, however, if you need to break a plateau or something, I'd suggest drop sets. That is, you start your first set with the heaviest amount you can, then lift to failure (up to 12 reps), and then drop by 20 pounds. So let's say you're doing a 100-lb bench. You'd do 12 reps or rep to failure up to a max of 12 reps, and then drop it down to 80 pounds. Repeat, and then drop it to 60. Repeat, and then drop it to 40, and finish.

Another exellent way to break a plateau is negatives. I did a month of those and got so much stronger, I went for a goal of 8 reps for everything and resisted 4 seconds. Another good way to get stronger is power sets which is my rep routine for this month, those are when lets say you're doing 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps and you increase the weight each set and still try and get 8-10 reps. By the way if someone replies to this I won't reply back till tonight because I'm going to be away all day.

So I'm going to start using the shotgun method in conjunction with Beta-7 & creatine in order to gain some more mass, rather than focus on specialization. Coming off of specialization should assist in some gains though, as that worked well with my back.

Let's hope it works :)

At 9/14/07 01:13 PM, Buddhist wrote: So I'm going to start using the shotgun method in conjunction with Beta-7 & creatine in order to gain some more mass, rather than focus on specialization. Coming off of specialization should assist in some gains though, as that worked well with my back.

Let's hope it works :)

Well, I'm not a a big fan of the shotgun method, but it works, I mean whatever works for you remember there is no right or wrong way to work out it's whatever works for you.

I was wondering. I have been working out for about a year now, and I've lost about 75 pounds. Recently though, my weight has been plateauing at around 155-160. I recently added more weight training to my exercises, so I was wondering if this is just muscle mass, or if I am doing something wrong.

Also, I was wondering if you guys have any ideas to work on upper leg and belly fat, that's been a problem area.

At 9/21/07 05:44 PM, alienwarrior2 wrote: I was wondering. I have been working out for about a year now, and I've lost about 75 pounds. Recently though, my weight has been plateauing at around 155-160. I recently added more weight training to my exercises, so I was wondering if this is just muscle mass, or if I am doing something wrong.

Also, I was wondering if you guys have any ideas to work on upper leg and belly fat, that's been a problem area.

Yeah you probably gained some muscle weight if you say you added more weight to your lifting exercises.

Buddhist...

Jesus Christ at all those supplements. How much money do you spend on them xD ?

Whey protein, BCAA and Creatine are just about what bodybuilders take. Isn`t it too much ?

Do you have a final goal or you just want to get big ? And how big...

I myself had trouble setting my goal, since each time you see improvement, you want MOAR. After my biceps gained the "ball" shape I wanted them to get even bigger, which is just crazy.

Now I really just want to put on weight in my shoulders, pecs, legs and improve my symmetry. People are telling me I`m soon going to start looking "unattractive", too much muscle =/

You should have in mind that it is your body, but it`s for others to appreciate too xD

so I started to get my fat Ng body and begin to get healthy. went jogging. My lungs They burn, sooo good! My legs feel like jello, but as long as I feel good after it's worth it. There's a jr high they just built near my home, and I went running 12 laps. at the usual 600m Duhhh That was not smart, It was funny because I kept on having to stop every 1.5 laps. But if it gives me an extra 5 years (is that the general concensus of the excercise world? 5 years?), then it's all good. stopped smoking and drinking like 3 years ago. so there's another 5 years there. I just bought myself a whole new decade. Jogging home from work might be a good thing to do, as soon as my lungs grow back. But I'm glad I started jogging.

At 9/21/07 05:44 PM, alienwarrior2 wrote: I was wondering. I have been working out for about a year now, and I've lost about 75 pounds. Recently though, my weight has been plateauing at around 155-160. I recently added more weight training to my exercises, so I was wondering if this is just muscle mass, or if I am doing something wrong.

Also, I was wondering if you guys have any ideas to work on upper leg and belly fat, that's been a problem area.

How tall are you, and how wide is your frame? Sure, if you're a skinny fuck like me you could get down to 140, but if you're muscular without a lot of fat, it's not a big deal to be that weight, it seems fairly healthy.

If you really want to trim down, you need to change your diet too, exercising alone won't get it done.

Also if you're really skinny fucks you should go on some weigh gainers

ahhh lost about 10 pounds running. I can fit in my old pants. good!

At 5/17/07 12:19 AM, Freakish-Beast wrote: Yo, i Need help xD

I will be hopefully starting the gym next monday and i also want to do some basic stuff at home. So far i have been doing about 20 pushups a day. what else? any energy shakes you guys recommend that will help me or something?

does it look like i have been working out?

for some reason my old pics got deleted :( but this is how my body is right now. I will update and show my next results in a month or 2.

At 10/26/07 01:38 AM, Rokuro wrote: I'm not obese by any means. I'm 6'0" and 150 lbs. So I'm pretty skinny.

Thing is, I want to gain some muscle. Now, I don't want to gain mass and get larger. I want to stay fairly skinny, but have some nice abs and pecs, and arms.

Abs require a combination of lean body mass + low body fat %, so in order to have really visible, defined abs, you'd have to put on some muscle mass. That goes for pecs and arms as well, but especially so for visible abdominals.

Regardless, you'd have to gain some mass in order to gain muscle, that's how it works.

To those of those who actually earned a 4 or 6 pack abs or know a bit about the subject, what kind of work outs would you recommend me doing? Crunches? Planks? I've kinda been wanting one for some time now so any help is appreciated.

May I join this crew? I am starting to work out more. Oh yeah, TailsPrower, Heres a guide to get six pack abs. I think it might help you a bit :).

In addition to working out, one has also to eat regularly. Been eating fruits for breakfast, unless it's Saturday, I eat my sugary cereal...what I like Captain crunch and Corn pops. Awww guys it's only one day a week I splurge.

But anyways, fruits in addition to giving vitamins, also gives immune system. When I was a fat dude, I was pretty sick like coughing all the time. Like sure one doesn't start off as Arnie the Mr Olympiad, Terminator robot, Conan barbarian king..... It's the little things that enourage the improvement for the whole.....

Anyways, back to the gym..... eating reguarly really helps too. that's what my trainer at the YMCA club says anyways..... Oh and the Y is really cheap, has a pool, a running track, incase you want to continue to excercise in the winter, which I'm doing. had a great summer running.

Lungs are clear. if you NGers are wondering weither to start working out, and changing your lifestyle, you should. Working out, doesn't give you pain, it reduces pain, as you eventually become more flexible, but the more important thing is that it helps you feel less sick less hurt (sore, sick, tired ect).......

Yeah, at this point I'm addicted to working out just because it makes me feel good, and it helps my strength for baseball (need all the leg, back, and shoulder strength I can get).

I should start eating more fruit though.

Yea Buddist, like you. I'm doing this to keep from feeling sick, and feel better.

i guess its a tip.......

i do about 5 - 20 minute in-tense runs at the gym and everytime i finish i notice my abs more than usual. i guess cardio is teh way to go. i do crunches and stuff but so far running has helped me the most to actually notice it.

At 10/31/07 02:03 AM, hongkongexpress wrote: Yea Buddist, like you. I'm doing this to keep from feeling sick, and feel better.

It'd probably help if I ate more food though. A lot of the time I still have trouble going over 2000-2200 calories without eating shitty food.

meh, just another thing to work on.

At 11/1/07 02:52 PM, Trypper wrote: Update:

I'm up to 155lbs, the heaviest I've ever been in my life. :P Deadlifting 340+(maxing in about two weeks), squat around 260-280, bench around 205-215, weighted dips, alot of weight. :P I'm just eating anything I can and hitting the weights frequently. Fast reps, no more grinding, even on my maxes. I'd like to get my bench up to around 250, squat around 300, and dead around 400. That's like my 6 months from now goal, who knows how it will work out.

I do alot more than the big 3 as stated above, but if you'd really like to know, just ask. A couple other core movements in my regimen is the farmer's walk, dips, pullups, C&J, and various rows. There is just so much out there to make your body grow.

Pretty schweet, man. I'm somewhere around 165lbs, and I just recently got my deadlift up to 255lb x8. This coming Thursday, if my legs aren't achy, I plan on maxing to see what I can hit. My goal would be 300lbs because that's all I have (purchased a 300lb olympic barbell set a couple months back). As for my benching, I finally bought a real bench, so I don't have to use a table anymore, god knows that's helping. The differences are spectacular. I'm hoping to get my max bench to 175-200lbs, my deadlift to 300 lbs and my squats to 200-250 (i do maximal tension with mid-range weight and full, ass-touching-the-ground squats, so I'm not betting on it being above 200). Still having trouble taking in as much food as I'd like, but no big deal, because I'm still making some nice gains, and getting gains is what makes me feel accomplished and happy.

I dunno about my hitting, because I haven't been to the cages in a lonnnng time, but I have seen massive improvements on the speed of my pitches, obviously thanks to the increase in leg strength from deadlifts/squats/good-mornings, and the increase in shoulder & arm strength from shrugs/pull-ups/push-ups/rows/arm curls/isolation movements. I can't say for certain the amount in mph that the speed has increased, but it's a lot. Now as long as I can get my location back in shape, I'll be good to go for baseball season, and I've still got months and months to train & gain! :)

Pretty good that in ~7 months my average deadlift weight has gone from 195 to 255, and from a regular to an olympic bar, imo.

I do need to find a place to buy those spotters for benching and squatting, though. It's hard to remove the bar when you don't have a place to rest it on, which causes me to use lighter weights and therefore compensate by going with maximal tension.

At 11/3/07 02:09 PM, Trypper wrote: ATG squats 4 lyfe. I've never done a parallel squat in my life, hah. I did a little maxing on Friday, not hardly though. Finished my 5th week of the DL routine I'm on, 305 1 rep for 3 sets, very easy. One week off now, and maxing the week after, hoping to hit atleast 360-370. Bench I hit 205 with relative ease, I should have attempted 225, fuck.

Yeah, I know how that can be. A lot of times I'll go for a weight max and end up doing it with relative ease, and then I kick myself for not trying with a heavier weight beforehand. Ah well, there's always plenty of chances.

As for squats, I'm going to see how many times I can get 225 up on Monday, hopefully a bunch. :)

The one thing that kills me about squats is that after a reallllly good squat session, I have to drag my own feet under me. Other than that, it's a good ol' time.

Good to see you too are making progress sir Buddha. :)

*tips cap*

275x8 on deadlifts today. Could've gone for another set, but my legs still have some lingering ache from leg day on Tuesday. Prolly gonna go for max deads next Saturday, that way I get four days to let my legs get some rest, as opposed to the usual two.

At 11/9/07 09:45 PM, Trypper wrote: Then I'll have a full week for just my hands to recover, because I tried a 185 one arm pull today, and couldn't budge it due to grip. I think one good grip session will do me good.

I know what you mean. I have some hardcore calluses, mainly on my right hand, but also on the left to a lesser degree. They always flare up after a deadlift session, so when I went for shoulder shrugs today (at a much lighter weight too, 195 or 205lbs, I forgot which), they were killing me. I dunno what really solves the issue of calluses, though. I kind of wish I did, but I still get the feeling that grip would be an issue after heavy sessions of compound lifts.

Nice to see someone around here striving to get stronger. :P

Yeah, it seems like it's just you and me these days, man. I dunno where everyone else went off to...

woah! I remember this! I think i spammed it up a couple years ago! didnt know it still existed lolz. glad to see it worked out. (pun intended)

I'm 5'6, 138 lbs, and need to know the best exercises for stomach and thighs. Besides running, I run a mile during the day if I can, but sometimes homework and shit doesn't allow it.

alright, ng gym, gimme a hand here. im 5'11 and weigh 188. so yeah, im a fat guy. most of my weight is in my stomach and thighs. how can i go a bout getting rid of it? as in specific excersices or whatev.

The similarity between our posts is almost disturbing.

At 11/11/07 05:28 PM, PhoenixTails wrote: The similarity between our posts is almost disturbing.

im taller...and probly a lil fatter...

ANYWAYS!