Whos a weight lifter here?

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cheese9988

Senior Member
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I usually do 5-6 sets, with 220, I can usually do 8 each time consistantly. Short breaks between sets. My max is 260. I weigh about 185. What do you heavy lifters do to add more weight on? Lately it takes me a long time to go up in weight, so either I'm maxing, need to gain more weight, or need a new technique?
 
back in college, i could put up 270 3 times.

now, i doubt i could do 180 once. hell, 150 might be pushing it. lol its been about 3 years since i've done any serious lifting, and 5 since i've been a gym whore...

it's time to get back in shape.


but, i actually got off my ass and bought gym equipment today. so, i'm going to start lifting again tomorrow.
Just spent like 3 hours building this shit (holy fucking 2131242423423 parts batman!), then i ate... so its not happening tonight.

plus, i need to find a home for those a/c boxes. they are too big to fit in my attic, so they've been in my little room behind the garage there where i'm keeping my 'gym'.... and then mopve the bench to that wall (as the width isn't wide enough for the bar. haha. i dunno... i may en up moving it into my bedroom at some point. that room is kinda tiny. we'll see how things work.

300lb olmympic weight set, straight bar, dumbbells, and am adjustable bench for under 300 bucks

(oh, and it it looks rigity, thats because its only hand-tight. i don't own any SAE tools... lol gotta hit the hardware store tomorrow for some sae wrenches to lock it down)
 

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oh, and to answer your question...

5-6 sets wont help you gain mass like you want.

try this:
3 sets:
220, 6 reps
240 5reps
250 2 reps

if you still have 'more' after that, move up 10 lbs next time for each set.
those last 2 should be near impossible to do.
 
I have a weider bench with an adjustable back. I also have a tricep bar (can add whatever) and a set have handweights (up to 50lbs). I work out my biceps/triceps alot, my chest and stomach. I have the lame chicken legs, my fiance is the only one who sees me with my pants off. ;)
I have a situp bench that I almost never use, don't laugh, it actually puts a sore on my ass.
When I do the reps should I usualy be able to do 2 or 3 like you say or go all the way to my max all the time? I take alot of protein, I eat eggs mostly (I like them) and I take the protein powder.

Here is my bench:
IMG00003.JPG


Sorry for the big pic. Oh just for reference in the same room, my dohc zc:
IMG00004.JPG
 
I used to be a fat ass. 5'10" 215lbs and I could barely bench 115lbs when I was a freshman in high school and I hit the gym hard. Lost 60lbs in 1.5yrs. Sucked because when I got cut, I was relatively skinny.

I can't bench anywhere near that much and I weigh about the same, but I have long arms and very narrow shoulders. I can deadlift over 400 though, and I have pretty flared lats? But to get where I'm at (6' 185lb 15" bi's, 31" waist, 42" chest and about 13% BF right now) (gained 30 lbs in the last year about 25 lbs of muscle) I literally ate my heart out, and lifted only three days a week. But when I lifted I lifted, I mixed it up every time, and left the gym like it was my first day there. Dead tired.


To get past a max, typically I do a pyramid cycle like B presented above, with push ups inbetween, and push ups at the end. But the key is, mix it up. Surprising your muscles makes a world of a difference, and form is key.


Remember. Eating right is 80% of the battle. I'm eating like shit right now. I'm out of season, work is killing me, so I've just been working and lifting a few days aweek. It has kicked my bellies ass(remnants of a 6 pack are gone) but I've never been this filled out in my entire life.



Also contact TotalBurnout. He knows his shit. I presented him with where I was at last year at 155lbs and he helped me a lot. I may be a bit chubbier now than in the past couple years, but I haven't done cardio in atleast 3 months, because I can't bulk if I'm running(run like 5 miles a day).
 
I used to be a fat ass. 5'10" 215lbs and I could barely bench 115lbs when I was a freshman in high school and I hit the gym hard. Lost 60lbs in 1.5yrs. Sucked because when I got cut, I was relatively skinny.

I can't bench anywhere near that much and I weigh about the same, but I have long arms and very narrow shoulders. I can deadlift over 400 though, and I have pretty flared lats? But to get where I'm at (6' 185lb 15" bi's, 31" waist, 42" chest and about 13% BF right now) (gained 30 lbs in the last year about 25 lbs of muscle) I literally ate my heart out, and lifted only three days a week. But when I lifted I lifted, I mixed it up every time, and left the gym like it was my first day there. Dead tired.


To get past a max, typically I do a pyramid cycle like B presented above, with push ups inbetween, and push ups at the end. But the key is, mix it up. Surprising your muscles makes a world of a difference, and form is key.


Remember. Eating right is 80% of the battle. I'm eating like shit right now. I'm out of season, work is killing me, so I've just been working and lifting a few days aweek. It has kicked my bellies ass(remnants of a 6 pack are gone) but I've never been this filled out in my entire life.



Also contact TotalBurnout. He knows his shit. I presented him with where I was at last year at 155lbs and he helped me a lot. I may be a bit chubbier now than in the past couple years, but I haven't done cardio in atleast 3 months, because I can't bulk if I'm running(run like 5 miles a day).

I am actually about your build, except in high school I was the super skinny kid. I have been lifting off and on since I started college, and got really into it after college. But I basically started off the same way, if I could lift over 120 lbs it was pretty good. I worked up to over 200, took me awhile, just might be the way I was doing it. Just it seems to be slowing down. I had been lifting til I could do 3 sets of ten, then go up 5 or ten pounds. I'll try it like you guys are saying, my goal is to have at least a 300lb max and be able to do reps with 250.
 
Also contact TotalBurnout. He knows his shit. I presented him with where I was at last year at 155lbs and he helped me a lot. I may be a bit chubbier now than in the past couple years, but I haven't done cardio in atleast 3 months, because I can't bulk if I'm running(run like 5 miles a day).

Glad things have worked out for you. Unfortunately, most of the time you do lose the sixpack when you try to put on the weight. When I was at my height 2years ago, my waist was getting thick and I was solid - I started to have that boxer look rather than that Men's Health fitness model look.

Also don't completely neglect the running just because you're bulking. Do HIIT (high intensity interval training) or keep running for a few miles at an easy pace - your heart will thank you years down the line. I've made the mistake of going from a State class runner to someone who can't run so well anymore. Looking towards the future, I'm going to try to get back into a REGULAR running schedule and get on target with my lifts again.

Congrats on the 400lb deadlift. I was heading that direction the other year when I was getting bigger. I wouldn't be able to pull that now though.

To the original poster, I won't really post that much advice because its hard to evaluate a program without knowing what the routine is or what the diet looks like. "I like eggs and eat protein" isn't sufficient to know if you're receiving adequate protein for your body to build the kind of mass needed to push a ton of weight or gain strength. People, generally, think they're eating sufficient amounts of protein when they're truly not.

Also, people generally crap on fitness ideas or throw out braniac ideas when they have no idea what they're talking about when you post on a public forum - especially if the forums target isn't lifting. Wanna be Big.com - The Ultimate Weight Training and Bodybuilding Resource was always my resource for fitness information. Olympic lifters, strength coaches, pro bodybuilders, competitive powerlifters, and the everday joe post on those boards. The information provided there is solid.

Also you have to realize that you're going to plateau eventually or people out there would be lifting literally thousands of pounds. You're lifting a good amount of weight for your current bodyweight. Eventually you're going to be lifting so much that in order to lift more weight you're going to have to gain both mass and strength.
 
To the original poster, I won't really post that much advice because its hard to evaluate a program without knowing what the routine is or what the diet looks like. "I like eggs and eat protein" isn't sufficient to know if you're receiving adequate protein for your body to build the kind of mass needed to push a ton of weight or gain strength. People, generally, think they're eating sufficient amounts of protein when they're truly not.
I can guarentee that I don't have enough protein. I eat more on the days I workout, and less on the days I don't. When I eat eggs they are usualy 3-5 a day, not sure on the protein content. The powder I believe has somewhere between 18-25 grams per scoop. So I'll add one scoop to a large glass of water, usually drink two a day, sometimes alternating with eggs. Typically does it make a big difference if I were to eat the recommended amount, blanco mentioned 1 gram per pound?

Ohh and the 400lb deadlift is pretty good, I know I can't do that amount. I don't even have the weights to try a heavy lift. I have put the bar back up with 240 on it, so if I can lift that high, maybe I can pick up 280 or so, but thats just a guess.
 
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I can guarentee that I don't have enough protein. I eat more on the days I workout, and less on the days I don't. When I eat eggs they are usualy 3-5 a day, not sure on the protein content. The powder I believe has somewhere between 18-25 grams per scoop. So I'll add one scoop to a large glass of water, usually drink two a day, sometimes alternating with eggs. Typically does it make a big difference if I were to eat the recommended amount, blanco mentioned 1 gram per pound?

Ohh and the 400lb deadlift is pretty good, I know I can't do that amount. I don't even have the weights to try a heavy lift. I have put the bar back up with 240 on it, so if I can lift that high, maybe I can pick up 280 or so, but thats just a guess.

Most say a minimum of 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Others recommend 1 1/2 to 2grams if you're trying to gain weight.

You need complex carbohydrates as well as healthy fats like monounsaturated fat thats in peanut butter or olive oil.

You also need sufficient rest, especially if you're taking every set to failure. That will eventually rape your CNS and you'll hit a state called "overtraining" where you'll actually begin to lose weight and strength because of your lack of rest, if you're not intelligent with your routine.

Also don't be that guy that only does chest and arms. We make fun of you in the gym, behind your back. :ph34r: Myself and my housemate wore our wife beaters to the gym on Friday because we see guys wear them all the time, we wanted them to feel like bitches. :ph34r:
 
Most say a minimum of 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Others recommend 1 1/2 to 2grams if you're trying to gain weight.

You need complex carbohydrates as well as healthy fats like monounsaturated fat thats in peanut butter or olive oil.

You also need sufficient rest, especially if you're taking every set to failure. That will eventually rape your CNS and you'll hit a state called "overtraining" where you'll actually begin to lose weight and strength because of your lack of rest, if you're not intelligent with your routine.

Also don't be that guy that only does chest and arms. We make fun of you in the gym, behind your back. :ph34r: Myself and my housemate wore our wife beaters to the gym on Friday because we see guys wear them all the time, we wanted them to feel like bitches. :ph34r:
Well the olive oil is good, because I put that in a lot of the food I cook. :) I do my stomach alot, I still have my six pack. I don't do my shoulders hardley ever anymore, and rarley my back, with the exception of picking the bar up when I can't push it up after doing reps. Most of that is because of lack of time, works been demanding lately. I used to do alot of military presses with the bar, didn't see a whole lot of results from that. I will step up the protein, and try lifting differently.

Is there something better than military presses that you could recommend for shoulders?
 
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If you want strength with size then you need 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Dont waste money on any bs supplements except protein shakes. Optimum whey protein is the best out there for keeping lean muscle. A mega vitamin pack should be added as well.

Just this past year I hit a wall of 315 on bench, I was always stuck at lower maxes like 250 until I tryed some different work outs.

Do 1 body part a week to keep from over training. The body needs a good week to properly recover from such strenous training. I suffered a severe wrist injury that shut me down for a good 2 months because of doing chest twice a week. Get some type of good glove with wrist support.

Heres what got me over the hump.

Warm up set of just 145 on flat 12-15 reps.
30 sec break
225 12 reps
30 sec break
245 10 reps
30 sec break
275 6-8 reps
30 sec break
305 1-2 reps
2 min break
Go switch to dumbells

75s 10 reps
30 sec break
100s 5 reps
30 sec break
100s 3 reps

you should be pretty spent by this point which makes having a partner to help push you and get that last rep. The key is to push your body to maximum failure towards the end of your workouts.

Now go do your back on the same day. Your body needs things to be equal, just lifting your chest and arms will limit your bodys potential and possibly cause injuries because the rest of your body wont be able to support the weight you are able to do with your chest. Triceps play a hugh roll in bench, I was able to do 275 8 times on seated push downs. Nothing beats doing push ups especially on an aerobic ball, balancing on the ball and doing push ups will increase your bench as well.

You have to do shoulders, chest, tris and back if you want to be strong on bench. You wouldnt do tris and chest on the same day because they play such a big role in bench so do tris and bis on wed or fri and do chest and back on mon. Work the opposite muscle on the same day ex. chest and back, tris and bis. If you do tris and chest you will be overworking your tris.

Good luck and remember rest and diet is critical.
 
Well the olive oil is good, because I put that in a lot of the food I cook. :) I do my stomach alot, I still have my six pack. I don't do my shoulders hardley ever anymore, and rarley my back, with the exception of picking the bar up when I can't push it up after doing reps. Most of that is because of lack of time, works been demanding lately. I used to do alot of military presses with the bar, didn't see a whole lot of results from that. I will step up the protein, and try lifting differently.

Is there something better than military presses that you could recommend for shoulders?

Nope. Military press is king, with dumbbells or barbells.

You're setting yourself up for muscle imbalance and injury by not even doing any back work, thats flat out foolish. Your chest muscles are opposing muscles to your back muscles, if one set of muscles is stronger than another its going to stress the opposing set. Do you really want to be one of those hunched over guys because your chest is stronger than your back and pulls your arms forward? They're weak and look like idiots to those of us who have a clue.

Building up your shoulders will increase your bench and help you fill out the top of a shirt. Two birds with one stone, right there. You look better and your strength is more functional, which are the two primary reasons why anyone lifts.

Now lets move onto back. Back is honestly the most "fun" body part to lift. Honestly, back days are amazing and a relief. I truly enjoy the rows, the weighted chin ups, the lat pulls, shrugs, and deadlifts. You usually can lift more because they're pulling exercises rather than pushing and most of our functional strength as humans comes from pulling.

The most painful workouts are the leg worksouts but they're the most beneficial. They incorporate your entire body and your entire posterior chain of muscles. Squats and deadlifts will put mass on your body far faster than benching. You'll gain the mass in the directly targeted muscles as well as a boost in testerone from a gain in overall muscle mass. Simply put squating effects your entire body and stimulates your entire body to grow.

If I had to choose a workout where I only was allowed to choose 5 exercises, it would look like this. The big 3), squat, deadlifts, and bench and then 2 olympic lifts, push presses and cleans. I promise you that by doing those exercises you'll increase the size of your arms and chest far faster than doing direct arm work and only benching. Infact when I was at my largest (which wasn't huge by any means but I'm a small guy) I didn't do any direct arm work. 9 out of 10 times I go to the gym and I'm on a schedule where I need to be out of there in 45minutes or an hour. The first thing to get cut from the workout are movements like curls and tri pushdowns. To make gains, you don't need to be in the gym for an extended period of time. You grow outside of the gym. To keep the fat off, do cardio and just because you have a six pack doesn't mean you don't need to do cardio. My abs are looking pretty sick right now, but that doesn't mean my heart is healthy and my heart will be around a lot longer than my youth and looks.

I try to keep things in perspective when it involves health. I'm sorry to impress my opinions upon others because they're especially strong in this category, but flat out working your chest and arms is silly and pointless. There's very little to gain from those exercises alone. The best workouts are full body workouts 3x a week or pick a traditional 3-5day workout split like, chest/tris, back/bis, and legs/shoulders.

Search for HST (hypertrophy specific training) for an awesome workout developed by a guy in the industry.
 
lifting...hahaha...last time i lifted i could do 2 sets of 10 at 150. Kinda felt like a bitch cause my friends could play with shit 210-250. I like bein a skinny bastard though, so lifting just seems weird to me.
 
If you want strength with size then you need 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Dont waste money on any bs supplements except protein shakes. Optimum whey protein is the best out there for keeping lean muscle. A mega vitamin pack should be added as well.

Just this past year I hit a wall of 315 on bench, I was always stuck at lower maxes like 250 until I tryed some different work outs.

Do 1 body part a week to keep from over training. The body needs a good week to properly recover from such strenous training. I suffered a severe wrist injury that shut me down for a good 2 months because of doing chest twice a week. Get some type of good glove with wrist support.

Heres what got me over the hump.

Warm up set of just 145 on flat 12-15 reps.
30 sec break
225 12 reps
30 sec break
245 10 reps
30 sec break
275 6-8 reps
30 sec break
305 1-2 reps
2 min break
Go switch to dumbells

75s 10 reps
30 sec break
100s 5 reps
30 sec break
100s 3 reps

you should be pretty spent by this point which makes having a partner to help push you and get that last rep. The key is to push your body to maximum failure towards the end of your workouts.

Now go do your back on the same day. Your body needs things to be equal, just lifting your chest and arms will limit your bodys potential and possibly cause injuries because the rest of your body wont be able to support the weight you are able to do with your chest. Triceps play a hugh roll in bench, I was able to do 275 8 times on seated push downs. Nothing beats doing push ups especially on an aerobic ball, balancing on the ball and doing push ups will increase your bench as well.

You have to do shoulders, chest, tris and back if you want to be strong on bench. You wouldnt do tris and chest on the same day because they play such a big role in bench so do tris and bis on wed or fri and do chest and back on mon. Work the opposite muscle on the same day ex. chest and back, tris and bis. If you do tris and chest you will be overworking your tris.

Good luck and remember rest and diet is critical.

If I were to take the time and point out everything wrong with this post it would take me a good long while.

You didn't hurt your wrist from benching twice a week, you hurt it from doing a retarded workload. There's no need for that many sets. There's no need to go to failure every set.

A muscle does not take a week to recover.

Optimum Nutrition whey is no different than any other whey. It won't help you put on "lean" weight any better than any other powder out there. I get it because I can get a 10lb bag of it and its cheap. Also it takes pretty good. Real food like chicken breasts or lean beef still kicks any powders butt.

Vitamins are good, but most are a waste. My housemate pisses neon yellow after his animal pack vitamins. Most people take vitamins wrong though and piss away their money, quite literally, since the vitamins aren't absorbed unless they're taken with food.

Why would you want to work your back out on the same day that you just annihilated yourself to a point where you shouldn't have using that benching regime?
If you're lifting for pure strength, you need atleast 2minute breaks. 90% of your muscular strength has been proven to be recovered in the first two minutes of rest, after that it takes dramatically longer to get that last 10% of strength back. When I was going heavy I would take about 5minutes in between each lift, if I didn't there was no way I was going able to lift the weight that I was lifting.

For fear of sounding like a bigger prick than I actually am, I'm going to stop. This is why I try not to post in these threads anymore or in the political threads. I helped "Slammed" last year simply because he approached me off of these boards and was open minded and listened to what I had to say so he benefited the most that he could.
 
You can say what you want, I shared my own exp. Thats why I said what got ME over the hump. When you work your muscles as hard as I did you will need a week for proper recovery and there is nothing wrong with the sets listed. 8 sets is not too many come on now. Optimum whey is the best bang for the buck thats why I listed it and it is excellent for lean muscle gain. I didnt touch on natural protein because most people know what foods have proper proteins for gaining size and strength.

By the way there Mr. Olympia I was training with an Amatuer bodybuilder that introduced me to this workout which gave me the gains I was looking for. But I guess he is wrong as well? My other partner had similar gains that I did doing this so there must be something to it.
 
Well, i found an adjustable, so i went to town and tightened everything up.

did some chest and back, then went for a jog.

i'm stronger than i thought i would be.

did the bar 12 times for a quick warm up...
12 with the 25's to make sure
12 with the 35's to reall be sure
10 with the 45's.

could have done a couple more if i had a spotter, but not worth it.

did some decline, some rows, some flies, and some pushups.

then went for a jog. made it about 1/2 mile tops. lol i was dead. maybe 5 min jog. haha

and now i'm fartin gup a storm :p

feels good though. i forgot about it.

shower time :)
 
8 sets to gain mass? nope. 8 sets to tone.

3, pushing out low reps, high weight is how you get bigger and stronger.
 
werd...im suprised you made it 5 minutes b. when i hadnt run in 6 months (smoking half to a full pack a day) i was barely making it one lap around a track. Im back to 3 miles now, but ran cross country for 4 years...thats a testament to the fact that if you dont smoke now, dont start. my legs could make it further, my lungs are whats holding me back.
 
You can say what you want, I shared my own exp. Thats why I said what got ME over the hump. When you work your muscles as hard as I did you will need a week for proper recovery and there is nothing wrong with the sets listed. 8 sets is not too many come on now. Optimum whey is the best bang for the buck thats why I listed it and it is excellent for lean muscle gain. I didnt touch on natural protein because most people know what foods have proper proteins for gaining size and strength.

By the way there Mr. Olympia I was training with an Amatuer bodybuilder that introduced me to this workout which gave me the gains I was looking for. But I guess he is wrong as well? My other partner had similar gains that I did doing this so there must be something to it.

Really a bodybuilders lifting schedule? Thats funny. A program thats made for someone who is genetically gifted and possibly uses hormones or developed by someone who uses gear to enhance their gains. I can post copies of Ronnie Coleman's and Arnold's routines as well. Does that make the routines good, simply because someone who is big developed them?

...or does that change the fact that Arnold has a hole in his heart and needs to go to a doctor daily? or the fact that Ronnie's flexibility and mobility is drastically reduced, but they saw results, correct?

Listen, there's a right way and a wrong way to go about things. Just because something suffices for awhile doesn't mean that its the right thing.

Who was the person that hurt their wrist and couldn't continue to lift for a month? Was that myself or was that yourself? I believe I'm the healthy, injury free person here and have had my own experiences in the past when I didn't have the proper information to learn from, I provided you with that information here tonight and what do you do - you scouff at it. Congratulations. This is why I generally don't post this sort of information here because it falls on deaf ears.

By the way, I was able to help someone like Slammed over the internet without ever meeting him. I didn't need to sit there in person and train him, but by heeding my advice he was able to benefit.

Also, my training partner is more than likely going to be showing at an Amateur bodybuilding contest down at the Jersey shore this summer and will probably be entering powerlifting events as well. But in the end, he still learns new things everyday by being open minded and listening. Thats probably why he got to the point he did, so quickly, naturally. What happened when he didn't listen? He was out of the game for 3months after the surgery on his hernia. You know what he told me on Friday in the gym after complaining for so long about how he couldn't work out? "I really think those 3months were good for me and helped me heal, I feel good, again, now. Its like a new start."

Would you like to guess who was telling him that he was overdoing it for months? Yeah, thats this guy right here.

This wasn't made to be a dick measuring contest. I knocked your routine because its a poorly constructed routine thats not really good at any one particular aspect of lifting and can lead to severe injury. 8 sets of benching is a lot. I'm not sure if you do any other pec exercises, but 8 sets taken to complete failure is ludacris and WILL lead to overtraining. Remember, I've been there and I've done that. Take what you will from this and if you benefit, I'm glad.

Gains are also very specific to the person they're made by, there's huge gains to be made when you begin training by doing basically anything. They're called "newbie gains" by many, and its understood that these are going to be the first and most drastic gains you make naturally. Doing your workout for a week isn't going to make you wither and break, but do it for three months or a year and you'll most likely wind up injured and seeing very little gains.
 
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8 sets to gain mass? nope. 8 sets to tone.

3, pushing out low reps, high weight is how you get bigger and stronger.

Ugh, please don't tell me you actually just said that.

There's no such thing as toning, which I forgot to point out to the original poster when he was talking about abs.

"Toning" is a function of diet. To look ripped its all about diet. There's a Strongman out there named [SIZE=-1]Mariusz pudzianowski. He's the definition of this fact, he looks like a bodybuilder yet trains like a powerlifter.

pudzianowski.jpg


Mariusz pudzianowski - Google Image Search

Foolishly, I wasn't doing ab exercises for a good while yet still had quite the 6pack. It was because my bodyfat percentage was low enough to show my abs. Same deal with vascularity, I look like a coke head when I'm ripped because of the diet and bodyfat.

Don't get trapped in that line of thinking that a certain amount of reps makes you look one way or another.

[/SIZE]
 
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