Anyone here bench, lift weights, etc?

[MikeH]

Two days a week will be fine. Just make sure you're grinding it out hard. And space the days out so that you have ample recovery time between each session. Maybe do Monday and Thursday, if that's possible for your schedule.

As far as growing, I'm a very small guy as well, and the eating more thing was kind of hard for me starting off. A good way to go about starting would be to calculate your calorie and macronutrient (carbs, protein, fat) intake on a normal day. There are plenty of calculators online, like this one: Bodybuilding.com - Calculate Your Macronutrients Intake! that will give you your recommended intake per day. But since that will probably suggest more than you're used to, start off by calculating your current average intake. There are plenty of calorie and nutrient trackers for smart phones, as well as online. Once you figure that out, add 10-15% of each average macro to every one of your 3 meals. You should start to see results from that. After you start to see visible results and you've gotten into the swing of things in the gym, start supplementing your protein intake with shakes. The goal for someone looking to grow is at least 1g-1.5g of protein per lb of body weight. Seeing as you're a small guy, that will boost your gains big time. As for adding mass, I personally use this. Super Mass Gainer by Dymatize at Bodybuilding.com - Lowest Prices on Super Mass Gainer! I'm a small guy as well, so now that my newbie gains are starting to slow down, I have to cram as many calories and macros down my throat as I can without puking, and mass shakes are a good way to do that. A lot of guys like them, a lot are against them. If you find yourself to be against them, making your own shakes at home is the best (and cheaper) alternative. They typically consist of whey protein, oats, peanut butter, milk, yogurt, and bananas, but there are several different ways to go about it.

If you need anymore help, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Kidneythief]

Well about the exercises, how would you approach it?
2-3 types of exercises for each group on one day?

So again back to the "plan" that I made;
1st day: 2-3 exercises each for chest, triceps, legs
2nd day: 2-3 exercises each for biceps, back, abs

There are a lot of variations for one area, so I guess that won't be a real problem, but choosing will be fun. I guess....and finding out which of the exercises works the best for me. Mehhh...

 

[UnderTheSign]

Do legs first on that first day. Then chest, then triceps. 3 for legs (quads, hams/glutes, calves), 2-3 chest, 2 for triceps. Second day, back, bicep, abs. You're missing shoulders this way though...

 

[MikeH]

I wouldn't do legs first. Legs are the thing you want to work out with the most intensity, as they are the biggest muscle group in your body. Scheck, one of the guys who writes articles for Animal, said it best:

RULE#2: If you have the ability to train another part of your body after you do legs, then you didn’t do them hard enough. I’ve seen this over the years. Guys get done with quads and hamstrings and then go train back or shoulders. If you still have the energy to do another body part then you need to train legs harder. It should be an excruciatingly tiring workout. Your mental capacity and nervous system should be shot. Period.

Here's his full take on leg day.
Article Details

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

Aren't you currently doing StrongLifts in which on several days squatting is followed by other lifts e.g. OHP which would theoretically therefore contradict this?

Or do you consider the concept of leg-specific training as separate to heavy low-rep squatting as part of strength training?

My view skews to the latter, interested to see your thoughts.

 

[MikeH]

I'm not applying this fully to myself currently. Though I do squat every workout (taking a week or two off due to a strained groin ), I still have a day where a lot of my accessory work is devoted to legs. My goal on that day is to basically stumble out of the gym. I usually do it on a deadlift day as well, so my typical leg day is coupled with back and looks like this:

Squat 5x5
OHP 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Wide-grip Pull-ups 3 sets to failure
Lateral Close-grip Rows 3x12
Leg Press 3x12
Ham Curl 3x12
Leg Extension 3x12

A little bit heavy, but I only work out 3 days a week. Theoretically, I need to be doing this on my last day of the week to give myself a two day break before I squat again. But I'm also an idiot and that's why I have a strained groin.

Also,
6/5/14:
Really hit my chest and arms hard today. Needed a solid workout. I'm still more and more addicted every day, and my off days are excruciating.

Bench Press: warmups, 5x5 @ 165
Barbell Row: warmups, 5x5 @ 135
Incline Bench: 3x8 @ 135
Decline Dumbbell Bench: 3x10 @ 50 (each arm)
Preacher Curls: 3x10 @ 30 (each arm)
Chain Dips: 12/8/5 @ 35
McGill Pull-ups: 10x1
Plyometric Pushups: 12/10/8
Cable Curls: 10/10/9 @ 100

I was feeling ripped afterwards. Now I'm exhausted.

PS - For those who don't know, McGill Pull-ups are done in sets of 1 or 2, and are very concentric, explosive pull-ups that you go 100% intensity on every pull. I say for those who don't know, as I've only just learned about them today and wanted to give them a shot. They're pretty interesting. Here's a video for reference.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

^Those pullups seem like a big waste of time IMO.
Try this;
Explode up, hold the peak contraction as high as possible for a full two count, then lower with nice control, repeat, and don't rest at the bottom.
Under-grip or neutral will do far more for the lat bulk.

 

[MikeH]

I was doing them neutral grip, so I feel like I got more lat contraction than I would have palms-down.

 

[Winspear]

Anyone here made the switch to sumo deads? What you think?

 

[TRENCHLORD]

Anyone here made the switch to sumo deads? What you think?

Make sure and stretch/strengthen thy groin.
I've only gave them a try and didn't really like the feel, but that's likely because I wasn't doing much to prepare properly for the change.
I use a fairly close stance for standard DL.

 

[MikeH]

No idea what the hell got into me yesterday, but I KILLED my previous DL PR. My last PR pull was 330 belted 3 weeks ago. Yesterday, I felt good pulling 290 for reps without a belt. Decided to say fark it and shoot for a PR. Pulled 340 beltless without a problem. 350 beltless. Again, no problem. Finally pulled 360 beltless with a bit of a sticking point, but got it up regardless. Strapped on a belt and pulled 370. After that, I was shot, but so ecstatic. Didn't do any accessory work, but I made sure I killed that.

 

[Alcoholocaust]

Nice! i might try a deadlift only day soon to get these numbers up.
I'm currently stuck on 140kg (~74kg bodyweight). Might try a belt also, i have a bit of a dodgy lower back (i'm a bricky by trade).
I'm also grabbing some chalk, my gym has some shitty stripped bars. Not into straps.

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

Nice! i might try a deadlift only day soon to get these numbers up.
I'm currently stuck on 140kg (~74kg bodyweight). Might try a belt also, i have a bit of a dodgy lower back (i'm a bricky by trade).
I'm also grabbing some chalk, my gym has some shitty stripped bars. Not into straps.

Just a tip, if your gym gets butthurt about chalk, try liquid chalk. Cheap and doesn't make the mess that chalk does. Also, we have the same deadlift! I'm almost 10kg heavier than you though so now I've got to get my ass in gear

 

[Alcoholocaust]

No better motivation than trying to beat someone! haha.
Yeah that liquid chalk looks great i'll look into it for sure.

 

[Fiction]

Ah, lost 3kg this week

Shame, I was about to crack 80kgs, but then work dumped an extra 30 hours on me this week and last, also just starting skating again so a bit more cardio. But I'm back to the usual 38 hours work a week and hopefully I can hit 80 in the next month

 

[MikeH]

I know the weight loss feels. Went from 158 to 154 for two weeks or so, but I'm finally making the ascension to 160.

 

[gunshow86de]

Wait, trying to NOT lose weight is a thing?

 

[MikeH]

When you're an ectomorph, yes. I started off at 139. My goal is 200+ in my lifetime. Probably extremely unlikely, but a boy can dream.

 

[Fiction]

Well I'm 6'1 and 165lbs, so at the moment I'm trying to put some on, I'm aiming for 200lbs, then I'll most likely cut back to 180 or so and just maintain.

 

[MikeH]

Started training with a buddy of mine today, so on the days I work with him, I'm trying to follow a more bodybuilding approach, as that's what he's going for. Still getting my power lifts in, so I'm not too worried about it. And I did squats today for the first time in about 10 days. Felt great. No groin pain at all, and I was actually going lower much easier than usual. Weight was a bit lighter at 210, but I felt like it was a good idea to drop after coming back from a strain like that.