Hey guys. I'm looking for some general advice. I've been working out for ~5 years now, but not at the level as some people in this thread. I've had some nice gains, but I'm definitely looking to change what I've been doing.

Previously I would work out 4-6 days per week for about 40 minute per session. I would workout muscles on the same day based on a loose definition of "push" and "pull" with roughly 2 exercise per muscle group being exercised that day. A typical push day would be something like bench press, shoulder press, dips, push ups, incline bench, and tricep extensions. Pull would be something like wide pull ups, close grip rows, preacher curls, narrow grip pull ups, etc. Basically I would just try to work out muscles that complimented each other. Obviously this only allows for so much variation.

Anyway, I'm looking for some resources or references that can help me maximize my time in the gym. I would like to gain muscle for general strength and aesthetic purposes, like most people. Currently I'm just shy of 6"2, 180lbs somewhere between 10-12% body fat.

Any suggestions about regimens or training schedules?

Thanks

11/1/2011 11:31:05 PM

I'm about to buy weightlifting gloves on the Internet.

It says if my palm circumference is 7-9" ... get MEDIUM
It says if my palm circumference is 9-11" ... get LARGE


Of course, my palm is 9.0" in circumference.


Should I go UP or DOWN?

11/2/2011 12:04:13 AM

or not use gloves at all, better for grip strength

11/2/2011 12:06:46 AM

Thank you for the suggestion, but I respectfully decline.


Looking for a simple UP or DOWN. Is it better to be too loose, or too tight?

11/2/2011 12:13:58 AM

get the smaller ones

11/2/2011 12:23:21 AM

Thank you for the response. I took your advice and I bought large.

11/2/2011 12:37:10 AM

bought large?...hopefully they dont bind up or fold over themselves

11/2/2011 12:42:19 AM

Swelling occurs when you're hot and sweaty. In that case, my hands will be larger than 9.0" and put me into large's GREEN LIGHT TERRITORY. Green means go.

11/2/2011 12:56:18 AM

I dont think gloves have an effect on grip strength, but obviously wraps do. I pretty much have to wear gloves, or at a minimum wrist wraps, to deal with my chronic wrist pain/arthritis. Years of lifting/military PT have destroyed my wrists.

11/2/2011 1:53:21 AM

I know it's counter to my masculinity, but I have soft, sensitive hands.

Having calloused, strong hands just don't appeal to me when you can't feel anything. Feeling is a part of life.

It's not cool to be able to scratch somebody's back with your palms.

11/2/2011 2:03:41 AM

Make sure you get the color that matches your bag

I prefer chalk. Straps if I am doing something that requires high reps, but is limited by grip strength (e.g. RDLs, Heavy 1arm rows). Just started using wrist wraps when I bench over 250 or press over 170.

11/2/2011 5:27:04 AM

oh i totally advocate gloves. and salt.

one teaspoon of salt per day increasing by 1 every day for a month should lower your bodyfat% by 3-4%. first day is 1 per day, second day is 2, third day 3 per day and so on up to 30.

it's tough to stomach, but you can do it. try mixing it with water if you're having a hard time.

11/2/2011 7:53:13 AM

Starting stats from two weeks ago:

Quote :

"Here are my starting stats right now: Age: 30 Height: 5'10" Weight: 165lbs Bench: 95x6 Squat: 115x6 DL: 115x6 Pullups: 4"

Currently
Weight: 163lbs
Bench: 105x6
Squat: 135x8
DL: 155x8
Pullups: 5

Although I am very weak in my chest, I think I probably could have started out heavier on my squats and DLs but didn't because I was afraid to go heavier with no spotter. I am forever alone at the gym.





Also, how do you all work your splits? I alternate between chest/shoulders/arms and legs/back/core. Is there a more efficient split?




[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 8:17 AM. Reason : splits]

11/2/2011 8:15:51 AM

^goals?

11/2/2011 8:32:04 AM

Muscles and strength





[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 8:57 AM. Reason : goddamnit]

11/2/2011 8:56:45 AM

Maximus WTF is this information about eating pure salt? And how is it supposed to lower body fat%?

Maybe by causing you to retain more water, thereby increasing your total body weight and lowering the relative percentage of fat. But I don't see how this can actually make you lose fat weight.

11/2/2011 10:47:51 AM

NOW THAT YOU HAVE RUINED IT!

it's some advice arnold gave some kid

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 10:51 AM. Reason : .]

11/2/2011 10:50:31 AM

Despite MattJMM2 careful and informative tutelage, I am going to have to change what I was doing from Power Cleans to Power Sloppies.

As I am sure there are plenty of "Beach Bodiers" lurking around in this thread (don't worry, I was one too at first) and if you are ready to cure your fuckarounditis and actually want to improve your fitness, I highly, highly recommend MattJMM2's services. Without sounding too much like a commercial he is extremely knowledgeable about getting your strength to the next level. Even if your goals aren't to get super buff, strength conditioning alone will improve all areas of your overall health. But like Levar Burton says, don't take my word for it. Just read his posts and see for yourself!

11/2/2011 11:09:08 AM

I bought some weight lifting gloves after I got a wart on my hand that I believed was from the gym. I hated them though. I don't remember what they did specifically, but it seems like the padding on the palm messed up that little nook between my palm and my fingers where the bar floats when doing cleans. I just didn't feel like I had as comfortable of a grip on the bar with them as I did without. They got better when they were broken in a little, but once the wart completely healed and I wasn't worried about spreading it I just went back to lifting bare handed.

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 11:20 AM. Reason : l]

11/2/2011 11:18:43 AM

Quote :

" Without sounding too much like a commercial he is extremely knowledgeable about getting your strength to the next level. "

Does MattMJM offer consulting services?

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 11:43 AM. Reason : ]

11/2/2011 11:42:56 AM

^He's a personal trainer, and just by following his post on here I can almost promise you he's one of the most knowledgeable PT's you'll find

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 11:55 AM. Reason : spelling is fundamental]

11/2/2011 11:55:10 AM

Quote :

"Also, how do you all work your splits? I alternate between chest/shoulders/arms and legs/back/core. Is there a more efficient split? "

horrible, horrible split, but unfortunately it's common. Why are you going to train your chest shoulders and arms on one day, when they comprise maybe 20% of your musculature, and then save the remaining 80% for the second day? that's not a training split - that's a beach body program in denial.

If you're only lifting two days a week, then arms/shoulders don't even deserve their own exercises. Hell, my arms are fairly large and I only train them as an afterthought on cardio days. if you insist on a 2-day split, then do chest-back on one day and quads-hams the next, with every lift being a heavy compound lift. maybe chest-back workout would consist of doing bench, incline bench, dips, pullups, and rows. I'd two two variations of either pullups or rows each day. for legs, do a mixture of squats, front squats, lunges, good mornings, stiff-leg deadlifts, hyperextension focused on the hamstring-glute area, and avoid machines as much as possible.

I prefer to do a four day split of chest, then back, then quads, then hamstrings. If I have a lazy day where my legs are too shot for a lot of cardio, then I do shoulders and arms. It's more of an excuse to go to the gym and blow off steam than it is about actually making gains with my shoulders and arms. Some muscle groups don't need to be trained on their own to get big; they'll grow just fine from the hormonal response caused by compound lifts in which they're used as an ancillary muscle group. Take a look at the guys in your gym doing shrugs as part of their normal routine. They usually have no traps to speak of. Meanwhile, the guys with massive traps are the guys who deadlift and do lots of rowing exercises with good form (limited movement of the torso, shoulder blades doing the work and not the lower back.) Same thing with arms; guys that come in for dedicated arm day don't have much to show for it. Guys that do lots of bench work, pullups, and rows usually have the best arms.

11/2/2011 12:31:50 PM

im really coming to the belief that pullups are the squat of the upper body

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 12:52 PM. Reason : e]

11/2/2011 12:43:37 PM

^ That would be the dip

^x3 and ^x6 Thanks for the kind words!

Yes I offer 1 or 2 sessions for technique consulting. I'll also throw in a basic program and nutritional guidance with that too.

HockeyRoman worked with me this past week...



[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 1:47 PM. Reason : words]

11/2/2011 1:43:15 PM

Trying to eat 3,000 calories is no joke! I'm trying not to be neurotic about it but rather just looking at what I ate today as a bit of a metric for going forward. Four scrambled eggs, protein shake and a giant #13 from Jersey Mikes is only getting me up to about 2,600. I would normally only eat half of one of those a day when I would get them (about once a month or so).

11/2/2011 4:33:54 PM

Peanut butter and olive oil. Staples of trying to increase your calories.

11/2/2011 4:37:58 PM

I did have about a tea spoon of peanut butter before my workout and then some olive oil in the pan to scramble the eggs. That has to count for something!

11/2/2011 4:46:36 PM

Whole milk + whey protein + oreos if you wanna get a little dirty with it

11/2/2011 6:11:06 PM

I want to strangle people who have trouble eating enough. A basic maintenance diet makes me feel like I'm starving most of the time, and dieting makes me downright angry. I could eat 6,000+ calories a day of just chicken and rice if I didn't monitor food intake.

11/2/2011 6:18:50 PM

^




If all I had to eat was 3000 a day I would be lucky. I eat more then that average and im only 160lbs +-3.

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 7:29 PM. Reason : extreme ectomorph for the lose]

11/2/2011 7:27:05 PM

I wish I could monitor one of you people's diets/activities for a while to confirm that some people do indeed have absurdly jacked up metabolisms. It's just really hard for me to believe that you could eat that much in a day, every day, and not gain weight...without "forgetting to eat" for a day or something.

11/2/2011 7:35:45 PM

I'm actually trying to gain weight. I'd like to get up to 165 (just 10 more to go!) and following MattJMM2's plan and turning it into strength gains.

11/2/2011 7:38:53 PM

^^

Sure thing. PM sent

11/2/2011 7:47:54 PM

possibly look in to some digestive enzymes... maybe your body sucks at absorbing nutrients.

Or, you just are very active. There is a big metabolic difference between being on your feet all day compared to sitting.

11/2/2011 8:06:25 PM

I just walked up and down 90 flights of stairs over a 3 block span in 45 minutes.

11/3/2011 1:40:31 AM

Holy crap...

Got sick about 2 weeks ago and was out of the gym for 10days and lost 8lbs....

My strength has dropped dramatically

Back to the grind, luckily it will come back faster!

11/11/2011 3:25:42 PM

That's no good!

11/11/2011 3:52:07 PM

bros don't get sick

11/11/2011 6:02:44 PM

started out doing 5x5 everything around 6 weeks ago and hadn't tested 1RM since...over the weekend put up 315x2 on the incline bench which is a solid 30lbs more than my 1RM last I checked. Also have gone up 10lbs on my 5x5 weight since I've began although next session i'll push it another 5-10lbs as I've completed 2 5x5 days at the same weight. I do like the 5x5, i tend to get stronger as I progress through the sets and rest around 90-120 seconds between

5x5x235 incline bench
5x5 muscle ups/pull ups
5x5x17.5 around the worlds

couldn't bike home as my fat ass somehow earned a flat tire

11/14/2011 5:38:52 PM

I am looking for some weight plates if anybody has any for sale or knows where they can be had on the cheap...

11/14/2011 6:55:56 PM

^ craigslist

You can find some crazy deals on there every once in a while

11/14/2011 7:32:57 PM

Would you say that $0.36/lb for 345lbs is a good deal? I've very really priced this stuff before other than a cursory look inside of retailers.

11/15/2011 3:37:43 PM

You won't find .36/lb in any retailer. Closer to 1.00/lb

11/15/2011 4:54:05 PM

I got my oly bar and about 255 lbs of plates for free on the side of the road.
There was a super nice bench with leg attachments there too, but it wouldn't fit in my 4Runner and my trailer already had a load of firewood I needed to move before I unloaded it.

I was actually searching Craigslist for a similar setup at the time and the best I found were in the $125-$150 range. Most were $175-$250. I was planning to buy the next $150ish deal I found that was close by.

Back in high school my wrestling coach found a huge stash of old plates and offered them to us for free. I don't know why I didn't grab as much as I could carry. We loaded close to 1000 lbs. in my buddy's Corolla until it looked like the ass end was going to start scraping. The springs were compressed so bad it bottomed out over every bump.

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 6:12 PM. Reason : s]

11/15/2011 6:06:58 PM

I wish that lifting was something I had gotten into back in high school. Instead, I relegated myself to being satisfied as a skinny distance runner. I figured you needed the correct "build" in order to develop decent lifting muscles.

11/15/2011 8:30:22 PM

i dont know where to put this, but seems like some of the crossfit haters would like it

11/16/2011 9:40:55 AM

I need some recovery tips; I will do just about anything, cold showers, ice bath etc. Had a brutal try-out yesterday and have to be at work tonight. The events of yesterday have left me feeling like I have been run over by a truck. Not sure I could stomach a foam roller or need one at this point, its sore deep.

11/17/2011 11:22:39 AM

Lotsa protein, carbs, calories, ibuprofen, contrast showers, ice baths, sleep, massage, foam roll, time.

[Edited on November 17, 2011 at 4:50 PM. Reason : ;]

11/17/2011 4:49:40 PM

the last two weeks I have hit PRs on the Bench. Last week was 315x15, and today was 365x9. I think next week I'll rep out 225 to failure and see if I can bust through my old PR.

One of these days I'd love to do a little mini-combine just to see what my totals would be compared to NFL athletes.

11/21/2011 8:43:19 PM

^Monster status

11/22/2011 8:10:16 AM