Topic: I just started working out

[nonie]

Anybody have any tips on what kind of exercise to do?  What has worked, made you look more manly?  I've been concentrating on arms and abs and especially shoulders.

[Nero]

  What has worked, made you look more manly? 

In a word - pasta

Nero

[Mario]

Nonie,

     If you are just using free weights then bench pressing will give you the most results for your upper body. If you join a gym, the more power to you. I have lifted my whole life and have always stayed in pretty good shape, but not being at a gym for some years makes it not as easy. Now that I have had my top surgery, as soon as I am allowed (another 4 weeks) to go back to a gym I am there. Drink protein shakes too.

                                                 Marco

[nonie]

In a word - pasta

I'm all over the complex carbohydrates already.  I freakin love pasta

Bench pressing, huh?  I've never done that before o_o  I'll probably have to work up to it, I'm freakin tiny

[LostInTime]

On the arms, to make them look fuller, do not neglect the triceps.  A lot of guys focus so much on the biceps that they forget the tris.

Also the lats for that nice full back and punching power.  A guy with good lats, well, meow. 

But do not go too top heavy, do not forget squats and leg presses.

If you are trying to bulk up, keep away from a lot of cardio for a bit.  Do not avoid it all together, but cut it back to just once or twice a week.  Also do not overdo on reps either with the weights.  Take your time, do not jerk the weight, and feel it through the entire range of motion.

As you start upping the weight, make sure you have a decent spotter.

As your muscle mass starts to increase, so will your metabolism.  Increase calories as needed but make sure to maintain good nutrition (especially protein).  This can actually be the most difficult part.  At my biggest I ended up taking about 4,500 cals a day just to maintain what I had.  Cycle any type of supplements that you are using.
 

[taylor]

Nonie,


These are my suggestions:

1.  No startches ( rice, pasta, bleached/white breads.  Ask any male model, body builder etc. it is just a firm rule for keep fat off.  Body crashes and feels overly tired from these products and they also turn to sugar in your system...need I say more.

2. Increase protien as mentioned already, but don't go crazy with it, and also remember that the cut of meat you eat, determines if it was worth gaining protien if it was filled with fat. Fat is simply that...fat!  ( A serving of meat is 4 oz. not a 16 oz steak lol.)
           note, you need to eat smaller, but more often to really get what your after...average 5 meals of real portions a day

3. If you are just starting with lifting any weights please follow this basic rules for both productivity and safety to yourself and your muscles.
        A. Lift wieght that you can handle to where you are using correct form!
        B.  As said earlier, don't jerk the weight, go SLOW with lifting and descending, this builds up muscle by breaking it down!
        C.  Start your first week or two out lifting 15 reps 1 set. usually this is done the first week, but you may want to take two wks.
        D.  After 15 reps of 1 set each, move to doing 3 sets at 10 reps.  You should at this time know what is a good weight.
       
Magic of bulking up:  A method I will swear by and so will body builders!!

Once you have done 3 sets of 10 at the same weight for about a two week period, raise the amount of wieght by 5 pds or whatever feels right.  Now your still going to do 3 sets, but your going to change each set out with the wieght...so:( see if I can write this out and make sense lol)

Lets say that you are doing leg raises and your doing 60 pds.  3 sets of 10 reps.  here is how you change it out to begin building mass oh and endurance that is extremely important.

1st rep  60 pds
2nd rep  40 pds
3rd rep   20 pds

Now after you increase a few more times with the wieght and say an average of two more weeks  you can give this a try even if you have to lower the weight a bit:

1st rep 20 pds
2nd rep 40 pds
3rd rep 60 pds.  this should bust your <not allowed> but you will have achieved huge accomplishment...here is how you will see the gain:
Do this two more weeks, and increase weight as you feel you can ( Always remember to watch your form!!)

Now lets say you are lifting with the assending weight amounts, starting with 30 pds at this point, and then on to say 50 pds and then up to your last rep being 70 pds. at the end of that two weeks, go in and lift 10 pds over the amount which is your highest for one set of 10! And you will have increased your strength by a very nice precentage!!  Pick a upper level wieght amt. and start the cycle all over, 3 sets of 10 reps at the same amount, then switch off using the next two methods I showed you above, each time you cycle through this the gains will be amazing! 

Here is why it works so well.  Muscle has memory, and you are training it for the movement, you want to throw it off so that it has to work itself out and work from more than memory, of course you need to build the memory up a bit first...then you change it up etc. Trust me you do this and your going to love the results, I dont care how small you are.  Now I am not saying that you can out do your genetic build up, but you can indeed hit your max abilities and keeping them there is easier than getting them there.

What you take in as fuel is very important. To do all the work and then blow it by eating the foods that are defeating would be a shame. So switch that pasta out dude lol.  I love rice and just had to dump it because it really does make me crash and it does indeed turn to sugar in the system.

All that I have shared here with you was taught to me by one of the leading sports med. guys in the country and he trains top level athletes, so it is good advice that I give you. Please realize that this is suggestions only!    Whatever you do, before you start a training program of any type, consult your doctor and get their approval for any medical conditions that you may need to address.

Oh and by the way Cardio is a good thing to do if you need to reduce fat on the body and also to assist you in gaining rate of oxegyn in the blood stream which you need to increase your endurance thereby increasing your lifting ability ( the blood must flow through the muscles to repair, and repair is what is happening when they grow and develp, you are literally taring them down to build them up.  Many people do cardio prior to lifting, I have found and rescent research has shown that it should be done afterwards! But of course the choice is up to you.

One last thing , a lesson I learned out of being stupid lol.... dont ever sit in the hot tub and then think your gonna lift wieghts lol.... I had this stupid idea that the hot tub would relax the muscles and then they would be less tight for lifting...ummm,, they are too exhausted to lift a dang thing! LOL  ok, we all learn from mistakes....hot tub AFTER lifting only!

If you would like resources and more info let me know. I have been working on researcher for this very topic for males on T for the Health summit coming up...I will do what I can to post more if you would like.

Peace,

Taylor

[Mario]

Good advice LIT and Taylor. When I get to go back to the gym, I will try your suggestion with the reps Taylor.
                                        Marco

[LostInTime]

Guys, I am trying to fill in the video section of the how tos.  Are there any particular lifting exercises you would like to see posted there?  There are quite a few in there, not everything, but enough that I would like some kind of filter to start with and all.

So please, PM me or reply here with what you would like to see in the Fitness Video How To Section of the board.

[nonie]

Ah, Taylor, that all makes sense.  Are you saying I should essentially eat only Atkins food?  I always felt that kind of diet seemed really unhealthy.  I already have a high metabolism and eat about small 5 meals a day plus snacking...  I have no idea what my normal caoloric intake is.

I've often read that carbs are what distance and endurace athletes swear by - was I misinformed or is the best diet entirely different for mass building?  And how do you feel about things like protein shakes and that kind of stuff?  I really am starting from knowing nothing beyond gym class in high school where we had 2 weight room days each week, all I did was the rowers and stairsteppers.

Oh, and I also have a lot of food sentitivities (not allergies, just sensitivities) so I can't even really digest large amounts of meat.  I might be stuck with starches either way as I seem to need a certain percentage of my food to be starch in order to balance out the stuff that messes me up so that I can digest it all.  But maybe being in better shape would help alleviate that.

I am so tiny that I started out exercising my delts without weights for a couple days...  3 reps of 15 of just lifting my arm's weight straight out to the side made me sore o_o  But the muscle feels harder and now I can do it with a very small weight.  I also can't do regular pushups yet...  Been using my knees.  Can only do like 15.  But man, I think I put on muscle pretty easily, because after two days of girl pushups I swear my pecs feel a tiny tiny bit harder and thicker.

And is soreness a good sign?  That the muscles are rebuilding?  I know the burn feeling is, right?

Man.  I'm gonna be a case to go in the books if I can actually get manly looking muscles from this <not allowed> frame before I start hormones...

[nonie]

LIT - yeah, triceps and lats!  Definitely don't want to forget those.  Generally if I do something that burns on one side I try to do something that has the opposite movement to feel like I balaced that limb.  What I need to do is get a gym to go to...  Maybe the Y or something.  I've been just working out with some weights I found in the garage at home, trying to use what I remember from high school about form, but I am probably doing some things wrong.  I used to hate the smell of metal weights in high school but I like it now.  Weird.

I worked at a textbook store for a couple months a few years ago, and I had huge biceps and bigger shoulders than before after only a few weeks (oddly no one else working there got much bigger, they kinda teased me about it), and they stayed for like 2 years without any strength exercise.  All I did was biking and DDR which is cardio stuff I guess.  But my arms stayed big for an incredibly long time and I was really proud of them but at the same time embarrassed by them, so I kinda let them go.  They're still a lot bigger than before that job even 3.5 years later...

I dunno, that stuff makes me wonder if I have higher than normal T for a genetic girl anyway.  I also always had a bit of a treasure trail and hair by my bellybutton that I used to shave.

[taylor]

Nonie,

Dude you rock!  This is great, you gotta start somewhere, you can't get to the middle of a journey without taking that first step and your taking it!

Here is a list of responses and suggestions for you:

1. Acid is breaking down in joints and muscle tissue, therefore you feel the burning. You want some of this to happen and it will decrease with time.

2. Yes sore muscles are the repairing/tare down that is taking place for the muscle to grow. Just be careful and make sure that it is sore from that and not a pulled muscle!!  They are a real pain to deal with, and they MUST heal before being worked out again once it is pulled, or you can cause further injury. So just be careful dude. DONT WORK OUT THE SAME SET OF MUSCLES EACH DAY. MUST HAVE TIME TO REPAIR AND HEAL BEFORE WORKOUT AGAIN.  if you work out daily then work out your upper body one day and the lower body the next, and leave a day for exercising without weights if you want to do something everyday.  OR  workout full body with wieghts one day and then rest the next, with some sort of exercise that off day. If you dont let muscles rest you will get hurt!

3. Meat and food sensitivity issues:
     A. Most people eat too much red meat that the body is not made to digest, and therefore it has problems with it. 4 oz is a normal serving, not 12 and 16 oz and up.  If you ball your fist up, that is about the size of one serving.
     B.  Don't eat meat that is fried EVER! I am not even going to go into all that is bad about this. But if you have a grill, grill the meat so that you can have the fat drip down off of it and not have the meat sitting in it when it is baking or whatever.
     C. People do not take the time to chew their food and therefore they tend to add to the digestion problem

4. Protein:
     A Fish  ( Great source of Omega 3's and you need those!) Do not eat Catfish or other high fatty fishes, but eat Salmon and lower fat fishes. Mercury is a issue to some degree, but try and see if you can get wild caught verses farm raised, this may help.
     B. Nuts ( A handful, the healthiest to eat are Almonds from what I understand)
     C. Peanut butter
     D. All meats, picking lean cuts is the best, they just don't taste as good so you need to get creative. Also don't cook them to where they are completely well done or they are too tough and you really won't like it. Use marinating sauces to tenderize with.
     F. Tuna also a great source.

As for your question in regard to Protien shakes etc. I can't honestly answer this question. There is still a great debate going on with what amount of protein a person needs, and you don't want to over do it!

5.   There are good carbs and there are bad carbs. Starches such as white breads, pasta, and white rice, potato's are bad carbs. They breakdown to sugar in the blood and cause you to loose energy, and crash. When you take this out of your system, I assure you that you will find that you do not get tired during the day or after eating...as long as you don't over eat. And you will love the fresh energy coming your way.  Yes you DO need carbs, just not from these sources!

       Good Carbs are found in beans, and other things like multi grains, veggies etc.  Beans are also high in protein... actually if you eat beans that are NOT canned, you can only do good by yourself. They assist with digestion if you don't eat the gassy kinds, and you again do so in moderation.  Cereal, dude eat Cereals that have multi grains and that have vitamines and minerals added. I have a friend that body builds professionally and is a health and fitness structure and the dude eats cereals like crazy, they have a lot to offer if you get the right kind. Try lentil beans in soup etc. this has a high level of iron along with the carbs and protein that your wanting. They are so good for you it is unreal! You can also use them to make chilli and stuff and leave meat out, and sort of not miss it. LOL

6. Fruit is important but it make sure that you eat low levels of citrus if you have a acid problem in your digestive area. However eating Blueberry's and strawberrys, cantalopes and keylimes, are all good for you. Do not eat more than a couple of bannana's a week! Bannana's are a toxin in high levels, I am not kidding here. Raisins, eat them, eat them eat them! They are a great snack, not large amounts mind you,, but great for snacking!  And grapes in moderation are also good for you. Too many can cause stomach cramping!
I personally love to eat grapes with cheese. Cheese is a weak spot for me. Some people say you should not eat it, and others say it is fine. I personally found that the fact I only eat it as a special snack does ok by me. But if you have a problem with dairy products or don't want to eat cheese but like it, then try veggie cheese as a substitute if you desire. I like it on things, but not so great alone.

7. Egg Whites, not the yolk!  Eating egg whites is a great source of Protein, but it also has other values that you will benifit from.
The yolk is so high in cholestrol it should be a crime lol.  Ok, now I know that there are people that say it is a good cholestrol, so the debate is out on this... lol....I eat eggs on ocassion that are raised on veggie feed and not from chickens that are kept in a henhouse. The free range ones just are in better condition and with better by products. ( you can get them at lowes food stores out here)
Substitute eggs are great too, if you want to scramble them or make a omlet.


8. I highly suggest that you make sure your form is correct no matter how little the weight, it is important to learn it correctly from the beginning!!  I also do not want you getting hurt.  I have no idea what your finances are, and I don't know what is around your area, but a lot of gyms will have a period of time that there is no charge and you can visit as a guest. If you can find this where you are go in and do a free three day trial or whatever, and ask someone their to show you how to do a few things with the free weights so that you can go home and practice correct form. A few days of learning this will take you a long way.  If you have the money to join a gym they always have people there to help you learn and answer your questions!  Some have personal trainers as well, but you don't have to have one unless you want one. If you can afford that go for it, but otherwise just ask the workers to show you things, and they can get you going...that is their job. I cannot say what the Y does, I do know each place is different. Some places have people hanging out and helping, others your on your own. So ask and go to several places before deciding where you want to make it your home to work out of . 

Well hope this helps you out. Do what you can bro it will get better. Don't forget WATER!! Your muscles and organs must have this liquid ok? 

Peace and hang in there bro!

Taylor

[nonie]

Wow, thanks for all the great suggestions.  One of my roommates is diabetic and this actually sounds like the kind of diet he's supposed to be on but can't stick to.  It seems crazy to me that if he eats bread and pasta, he WILL have a seizure, but he eats it anyway.  That's a high price.

So maybe he and I can start to eat more like what you're suggesting together.  Maybe he and my other roommate who's been talking about working out and I can all do this together.  It's funny because everyone in my house, and we have 6 people living here, has been talking more and more about strating some kind of fitness regimen and nobody is really doing much yet.  Just taking baby steps.  But since they were so cool when I came out to them, maybe it would be a good bonding thing too.  I hate doing things alone, I'll do it, but it's always better to have someone with me.

Maybe it's synchronocity and I'm fated to get big muscles   Or maybe we're all just starting to feel older

The free trial thing sounds like a great idea!  Now I just have to figure out who will give me a ride there o_o  Haha!

I can't afrord anything right now, but I was thinking about looking for some better used equipment, like a bowflex or something.  What kind of equipment to you think would be the best for me, i.e. has a lot of different possible exercises and can start out light and get heavier?

Thanks so much for writing all this stuff out for me.  I really feel a lot more like I know how to approach this process!

[taylor]

Hey Mikko,

I read your other post too and it is nice to see that you are able to stable some things out, and that there is support from both your family, Justin's family and your friends. It can go up and down, and some people will do better than others, but hang in there and this will work out for you, it's your life after all.

Okay here is another list of responses for you lol... maybe not as long!

1. Your changing your lifestyle, that is what happens when you change your fuel intake, and work out.  It is not about dieting, it is really about making healthy choices and working towards what will one day become plain habit for you!

2. I know doing things alone is hard, but really it is rare that people will all stick in with something like this together for the long haul. But you never know, maybe they will. Either way this is a committment you are making to yourself, and your future. The bottom line for me is that you simply "feel" better!!  It took me feeling better to ever bother with believing in it or caring about it! lol

3. You asked me about what equipment to invest in on a very low budget.  Here are my suggestions for just getting started out:

You mentioned earlier that you had a garage so i am assuming that this is the case, unless I mis understood, which could be.

1. Speed ball  ( you can get used ones from used sporting goods stores like Play it Again Sams.  This will build your shoulders, chest, biceps, etc.  They are great, and keep from being boring.

2. Threaded hand bars for curls, side and front raises, triceps, biceps and shoulder works, with some small muscles getting worked out too. 

3. Long bar ( you will want to use this without any wieght to start out with) oh and ( Do not get the olympic bars for the record!) just the threaded end bars, not the smooth end that takes clips, cheap in this case is NOT a good thing.  I am strongly against the plastic coated weights regardless of how cheap they are, because they are NOT accurate in the long run when the cement is on the floor from the cracks in the plastic, and when I say long run, it does not take that long! lol

4. A bench is a good idea!  You can get a used bench from some places, including yard sales, ebay etc. But really you can find a regular bench ( you don't have to have leg extensions unless you feel you want them and have the money)  for about 60 bucks. I have seen them for as low as 10 bucks in used condition.  make sure that it is sturdy and padded well.

5. From what you have shared with me, I will suggest getting the following weights that go on the threads of the bars I have suggested:  (4) 2.5 pds,  (4) 5 pds, (2) ten pds. this can get you started with no problem. You can buy used wieghts at Play it Agian Sams and places like that. This is cheaper and the weights are metal so they are not any worse off than new shiney ones to get started with.

6. A chair that has a back to it. A metal folding chair etc. is fine.  ( You can use any chair with a back that does not have arms.

Keep doing the push ups with the knee's, safe your back!!  Crunches, leg raises, knee to chest stretches, etc. none of this takes money, but it does take doing it daily.

The most important thing for you to do next is learn to do your lifting with the correct form.  Tell me what equipment you are currently using and I will see what I can suggest based on what you have and get you some resources to take a look at for the form issue.  Also are you doing any type of core training? Just wondering.

Well talk with you soon. Hope this helps you out some more!

Peace,

Taylor

[nonie]

Taylor - what is core training?

My fiancee, now that he's in on this with me, is planning to start working out with me.  He used to bodybuild quite a lot when he was younger so he says he can teach me correct form and go on the diet and try to build with me.

Right now, what I inherited in a bunch of furniture from my SO's parents when we moved in, is a bench, a couple threaded bars, and the weights that go with it.  I'll have to take a closer look at it to see exactly what weights are there.  I was mostly just using the bench to sit on and holding one of the little weights in my hand, which I'm sure was incorrect form but I felt like I just had to start right and learn when I had the right stuff.  I bought a plastic-coated cheapo 10 lb dumbbell on the advice of my SO - we're going to get real metal ones, this was just to get started on until our money issues are all resolved, which shouldn't be long.  For curls I can do more weight than any other upper body muscle group, again probably leftover muscle there from my textbook job.

A speed ball is one of those weighted balls, right?  I'll pick one up

When I was first trying to start exercising, I was kind of hiding it from my SO, I mean I'd told him I was going to but I didn't want him to see how weak I actually am.  Now that he knows what's up he's actually not teasing like he might've done otherwise, but telling me that when he first started lifting he could barely do 10 reps with a 10 lb dumbbell either.

[taylor]

Mikko,

The speed ball is what hangs from a board on a small chain . Your SO should know what it is , and try and find one used if you can at Play it Again Sams, or what not.

I think it is great that your SO is going to be working out with you, this will give you someone that can give you some good pointers and assistance.

 Keep a journal of your workouts daily, just use sheets of paper on an old clip board and put them in a folder it really helps. Any pro will tell you this, and it is great for future referencing to show progress that at times may feel slow.  Oh and get a tape measure and measure all your body parts to note your increase muscle gains, and note them like monthly.

Peace and Good luck to ya!!  Let me know how it is going!

Taylor

[nonie]

Ah, Taylor, thanks so much for all your advice!  I think I'm going to take a lot of pictures too, to keep track of the growth   I'm gonna look so great, I know it already!

[taylor]

No doubt bro!

Peace,

Taylor

[nonie]

Progress!  For the last two days I have been able to add 5 crunches and 5 pushups each day.  I need a bigger dumbbell for curls - 10 lbs is too easy.  I can just barely handle 10 lbs for the deltoids and can't do it with the triceps yet.  My bicep started out at 10 inches, now it's 10.25!  Yay!

My SO taught me the correct form for everything I can do with the dumbbell, that's all I've been doing so far.  Kind of still easing myself into it I guess.