Anyone into bodybuilding/ recreational weightlifting? Need advice?

I wish I knew what that feeling was like! Like you I am also a college student and it's near impossible for me to stay full all day or get a good meal. I cook on my own but there is only so much chicken I can eat. What did you eat today to get stay full like that?

 

I'm no expert but I did do some reading back when started lifting, and I found the best way to bulk up (and that's what youre looking for, now isn't it?) is actually pretty simple:

Forget nautilus. Rubbish. Free weights are SO much more effective.

Work each muscle group HARD twice a week, with three days' rest for each group. I like a push/pull routine. So you do chest/shoulders/triceps Monday, and back/biceps Tuesday, legs Wed. Rest Thursday and repeat. I bicycle 100+ miles/week for legs, and don't work them at all in the gym but that's me.

But the most important thing is to vary the excercises you do for each body part. Do flat bench with a barbell Monday, then incline bench Wednesday then decline bench next monday, then do them with dumbbells. Find as many different exxcercises as you can and mix them up. The more you mix it up, the more you will gain, in both strength and bulk. Keep your muscles off-balance and trying to adapt to changing stimuli.

MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE: absolutley positively DON'T get all macho and go for a single-rep max. That's the best way to injure yourself and set your training back for months. Start with light weights that feel easy, and work your way up slowly. Twelve reps should be no strain on your first set, and if you're smart you will never go below 6 reps. And that should be after you've been in the gym for months and know your limits, AND have a spotter.

And for rank beginners. Don't work hard AT ALL your first session. Light weights, no more than three sets, and you should feel like you did nothing. You'll feel it tomorrow. Work hard on your first visit to the gym and you'll be incapacitated for a week or more.

 

NO! absolutly not!

work muscle groups once a week... stimulate the muscles don't annhilate them.... eat well, and sleep well.... thats it!


Low reps, heavy weight, perfect form.... thats it!

no magic tricks, no fancy exotic excercises... work your core, stimulate the smaller groups after your work your core... and enjoy growing

 

Whole heartedly agreed.

Also, single reps can be more than just a macho thing. By properly warming up, and performing a controlled (spotted) single rep max, you can cause extreme growth. Do this maybe once a week. It works wonders for your mind and muscle.

I tried this over a year ago. I went from conservative bench press (doing what I THOUGHT was an appropriate weight) to consistantly pushing myself. I went from benching 155 lbs to putting up a solid 260. No that is not bull****. I am not a huge dude either. At the time I was only 170lbs. Now I am consistently doing what I stated in another post and have gained 15lbs muscle. This takes TIME. I make my biggest gains over winter and cut in the spring down to summer. I would like to get to 179 - 180lbs.

Bottom line: Push yourself harder than you THINK you can. Do not be reckless but focus and push out distraction. Chances are, your body can do a lot more than what you think it can. Just give it the chance. I must reiterate, get enough sleep (I'm one to talk ) and dont over work the muscle. GOOD LUCK!

 

Go w/ a high protein-carb diet. I disagree w/ eating a lot of fat for 3 reasons: 1, it is hard to digest & slows your GI system down. 2, it is not the best source of energy (carbs are) & 3, nor does it provide amino acids for muscle building.
Eating quality food & not cooking much can be done. I hate to cook too. Most fast food joints have a grilled chicken sandwich – add cheese. I like: chicken, fish, lean beef & pork w/ rice, potatoes, bread, & some veggies just because. Eggs w/ cheese, grits or cereal, toast for breakfast-or a protein/gainer shake. I also like drinking shakes alone in the am because it goes right down & is not slowed by food in my stomach.
As for cooking I do it in bulk & freeze meal-sized portions for the week. Dump a doz chicken breasts in a big ass pan, pour in a couple cans of mushroom soup, cover with foil & bake at 400 for 2 hours. Then baggie & freeze. I mass pan cook lean ground sirloin patties, pork chop centers w/ any kind of Kraft marinade or barbeque sauce & bag & freeze. Uncle Ben’s “Ready Rice” pops in the microwave, as does baking & sweet potatoes. For snacks before training bananas are top choice – have carbs & potassium for muscle electrolytes. PowerBars are good too & really cheap.
There are all kinds of gainer drinks to fill in the gaps. I believe in recovery eating during the "WINDOW".

 

Well yesterday was a odd day, I just ate out all day long. I'll tell you my meal today...

Oatmeal, 2 waffles, Nutrigrain bar, and punch for breakfast (2 p.m. haha I had a afternoon class today okay!). That was about 560 calories.

Granola bar during class, about 180 calories.

Buffaloe strips with ranch and lemonade for lunch, 580 calories.

Some kind of Tomato soup with rice and chicken for dinner, estimate 500 calories.

Peanut butter and Jelly sandwhich on wheat bread and punch 2 hours after dinner, 620 calories.

Total thats about 1800 calories, but i'm about to have a TV dinner, lemonade, and ice cream sandwich to bump me up to about 2,400 calories. Today was an odd day though, I had some packages come in so I was busy on ebay all day. But it's still an improvement from what I used to take in on a normal day. Tomorrow i'll take in some more.

The most expensive thing on there was the buffaloe strips, the rest was pretty cheap (in case you're on a tight budget).

 

here's where you and I disagree


you're only new lifter if its your first time ever touching a weight.... other than, I say jump right in, no sense in babying oneself when you can fully approach the task at hand...

i stand by do splits, not a full routine... by doing this you give your major muscle groups time to recover fully....

whats even more important than pushing or pulling weight is your recovery.... there is much more to the picture than being able to move alot of weight...

Diet and Recovery

 

Try to get some good protein in there. Chicken breast or beef. If you get to the point where you're full all the time and can't eat, this is where the MRP come in handy. Replace the lemonade and punch with milk if possible. Soda and all those other sugary drinks are no good.

 

drop the lemonade, punch, soda..


if you must... diet soda can help ya keep sanity when in a rut....


as far as milk.... milk is great.... but if you're in the process of cutting, I usually say drop the milk also if you want to obtain a hard, vascular look


(that did sound rather homoerotic didn't it?)

 

shiggins, Try chopping wood (axe, maul, sledge & wedges) again, and again, and again. This may not be the answer you were looking for, but I guarantee that it will increase your grip and wrist strength as you've never before experienced (besides, getting good with an axe, maul, or sledge is great fun).

 

and you'll be warm in the winter

 

Any comments on Whey protein powder?

 

its a good supplement... but doesn't beat real food

you can order alot in bulk from a place like www.trueprotein.com


but again, don't use it to replace meals etc... it'll work for a week ro so, but then your body will be getting starved for "real" nutrients

 

if it does not come from a needle, i know nothing on this subject...