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Ok, I need some advice from somebody with significant workout experience, or even formal training in the area.
I've been working out for over a year pretty solid. I've lost a lot of weight, I feel a whole lot better. I started doing mostly aerobic exercises to lose weight then added some weight training but I've plateaued. I'm getting bored and I've stopped seeing progress. I need somebody to help me take it to the next level.
Here are the particulars:
I'm 47.
I workout 6 days a week and I have about 60-90 minutes a day to workout and that has to include everything, stretching, abs, etc. (a little longer on weekends)
I eat pretty well but could be better and I can cook so I can make almost anything.
I go to a gym so assume I have access to almost any cardio or weight lifting machine or free weight equipment.
I'm willing to make whatever changes I need to make to my exercise routine and my diet to get a little bigger and start seeing better definition.
Who can help? What other information do you need?
yebat' Putin
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Legend
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Have you taken any breaks from working out in that time? If not, a week or 10 day break with only some light stretching or yoga can be rejuvenating and allow you to get some momentum back.
I'm not an expert by any means, but I've dropped quite a bit of weight and gotten into pretty good shape with p90x. Now I just lift weights 3x per week with a basic 5x5 program and bike commute 8mi to work most days. The diet for me is 80% of the struggle. Whenever I slack in that area, I feel and see the negative effects quickly. I can take a week or two off from working out and pick up right where I left off.....and feel much better. Good luck.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
- John Muir
#GMSTRONG
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Dawg Talker
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My wife's 57. She's into the p90x.
It seems to progress as you master each level increasing the levels and activities.
I had back surgery 2 years ago and I'm not allowed to do those types of things anymore so I'm stuck with aerobic right now. However I do some weight resistance while I'm on my inversion table. It takes all the strain off my back and pretty much concentrates on upper body. I've always been a bean pole, but the years before my surgery and the couple of years after I picked up about 20 extra lbs that really don't want to leave the comfort of my midsection.
She has done the Billy what's his name kick boxing punching stuff and got bored. She does yoga and aerobics. She's always been lean as well, but you can tell when the muscle mass replaces the accumulated fat.
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Legend
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What are your goals, and how often do you vary your routine?
When doing specific routines for exercise, it is best to change up the routine about every 3 months other wise the body will adapt specifically to the exercises you are having it do, and you'll plateau. You have to change the exercises and get the body back out of the comfort zone.... you can work the same muscle groups, but change how you do it. Instead of straight-bar bench presses, do dumbbell presses. Instead of doing squats at a rack, do one-legged squats and lunges holding a dumbbell. Instead of tricep pull-downs, do dumbbell kick backs, etc.....
For cardio/aerobic work.... add in small doses of speed/anaerobic work. Add in a second form as cross-training - something low impact like cycling or swimming.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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Legend
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I did p90x about 2 years ago, was amazed at how well it did and I didn't follow it strictly.
When I restarted the gym about 4 months ago, I used what I learned there into my routine now at the gym. I do 3 days of weight training, with 2 days of cardio mixed in between. I go hard for 3 weeks, then take a week that is all cardio. I change the machines / routines I do when I start the next cycle. Same muscle groups focused on certain days, I just use other machines and methods with the dumbbells from the previous cycle.
My own little adaptation is in the 3rd week of each cycle, instead of doing 10-12 reps of each set, I up the weight with a goal of getting 6 hard fought reps in.
IMO that is the key, your body adjusts to your workout over a couple weeks, so after 3 you need to rest and then change it up. They call it muscle confusion in the p90x program, and I believe it works.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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I'm down to 6'3'' 200 lbs. At my heaviest, I was 235 lbs. My end goal is <12% body fat. Right now, I'm around 18%.
One thing I have found out is that diet is 80% of the struggle to cut weight. One thing I've done to accomplish this is the 5:2 diet. Really sucks at first, but then you get used to it. I was also really skeptical of the technique at first, since I had always thought you needed to eat a lot of small meals, but it turns out that the 5:2 really worked the way it was advertised...at least for me.
As far as working out goes, I've kept a workout log over the past several months. I almost never do cardio. Most of my workouts focus on heavy weight-training and a lot of anaerobic workouts.
The one anaerobic workout that really helped me shed was hill intervals, which I did on a treadmill. The treadmills at my gym have an interval setting where you can set the run and walk speeds and just push the button to alternate between the two. Right now, I set the incline of the treadmill at 10.5, I walk for two minutes at 2.0, then for 10 rotations straight, I'll sprint at 10.5 for 45 seconds, and walk at 2.0 for 1 min 15 seconds. When I first started out, I did 8.5 instead of 10.5. It was exhausting, but well worth it.
When I have little to no time, I try to incorporate Tabatta workouts. They only take 4 mins to do, but you still feel exhausted.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
#gmstrong
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You may be hitting the benefits of a year of working out. Finishing up the rookie gains that are the fastest.
If you want more definition you can always start a cut to chop off some flab. Getting bigger..there are like a million workout routines that work. Most dont go 6 days a week for an hour so you will have all the choice in the world. I like a few like lean gains, 5x5, rippetoes starting strength, or playing around with kettlebells.
An example of your current lifts for squat, bench press, and deadlift would give a good picture of where you are at. An example of your daily calorie intake and protein intake would be useful. How long have you plateued and what is your routine etc.
The answer invariably will end up being enjoy yourself, lift heavy, and eat more cals and protein to build muscle.
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Dawg Talker
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Quote:
When I have little to no time, I try to incorporate Tabatta workouts. They only take 4 mins to do, but you still feel exhausted.
You sir are a mad man. Tabatas are intennnse. Good recipe for vomiting 
I had to google 5:2 diet. Basically a form of intermittent fasting. Gotcha. IF is a godsend coming from the forcefeeding 6 meals stuff Ive done all that stuff, IF can be a pretty easy way to cut. I just finished 6 weeks of protein sparing modified fasting (tuna and tabasco, 1 free meal and 1 maintenance day weekly) A vile way to cut
I have HCM (heart disease where athletes keel over dead) so I actually barely workout nowadays and just diet my way to victory. Down from 215 to 160 at 5'9" from last november but I have no idea what amount was muscle  But without any exercise I'm a bit of a flabby mess for now. Need to figure out a good low intensity weight routine so my heart doesnt explode. I'm schooled mostly in high intensity stuff that is now useless knowledge for me
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Legend
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pretty much echoing what some others have said, but....
one of the ways I got better definition when I was working out more than I do now was swimming for a big part of my cardio. it's more of a complete body workout than most cardio and it really helps target more areas for work.
also, to get better definition is going to depend on exactly what you were doing. if you were doing a whole ton of high-rep stuff, then having a cycle with low-rep/high-weight could help (or vice versa). there are alot of routines you can find online that supplement a caloric intake that goes along with such routines.
my best advice though is to find something that if fun for you so you don't get bored. for me, basketball is what I have the most fun doing for cardio, so that's what I do. I'll switch it up from time-to-time, but it's my goto cardio. running, treadmills, and the like just bore me after a few weeks.
#gmstrong
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Practice Squad
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I see comments of people doing the P90X.. Has anyone given the Insanity workout a try?
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Legend
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King, thanks for the response.. your response seems to be most understanding of what it is that I'm going through and hope to accomplish so I figured I would start a private chat.... Quote:
You may be hitting the benefits of a year of working out. Finishing up the rookie gains that are the fastest.
That is exactly what is happening. I've gone through periods of working out and this is usually when I get frustrated and quit and that is what I'm hoping to avoid this time.
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If you want more definition you can always start a cut to chop off some flab. Getting bigger..there are like a million workout routines that work. Most dont go 6 days a week for an hour so you will have all the choice in the world.
I think I read many of those million options on the internet which only served to confuse me, which is why I'm here.  When you say "start a cut to chop off some flab" what are you talking about? In my 6 day routine, 3 of those days are typically cardio and I'm thinking about changing it from 3 cardio/3 weights to 2 cardio/4 weights. I'm ok with my weight and most of the flab is gone which is why I'm looking for a little more definition. I started at 5'9"/217 and I'm around 170-175 now. My weight could go down 5-10 pounds or up 5-10 pounds and I wouldn't care if I looked the way I wanted to look. I'm at a point where I'm not concerned about what the scale says, I'm concerned about what the mirror says.
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I like a few like lean gains, 5x5, rippetoes starting strength, or playing around with kettlebells.
I have no idea what any of that means, though my wife does have a kettlebell and associated video gathering dust in the bedroom. My weight training now consists of this... I have 3 or 4 different options for chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, and legs. I will do 3 sets of a chest exercise, maybe it's bench, then do triceps, then down the list, then I will pick a different chest exercise, maybe dumbbell flys and do 3 sets of those and go back through the cycle again with similar but different exercises. I do this primarily because sometimes the benches or a particular piece of equipment is packed so I just pick a different exercise and keep moving..
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An example of your current lifts for squat, bench press, and deadlift would give a good picture of where you are at.
The only one of those I do regularly is bench. In my recent reading I've come to understand that I need to do deadlifts. Is this what 5x5 is referring to? 5 sets of 5 different exercises? If so, how hard should I be going? Should I be getting 6-8 reps in, 12-15? when should I actually be achieving muscle failure?
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An example of your daily calorie intake and protein intake would be useful. How long have you plateued and what is your routine etc.
I think I answered the part about my routine, if anything is unclear please let me know. As for my daily calorie intake I have no idea. That is one of my concerns that I was in weight loss mode for a long time and now that I'm lifting more I need to alter my diet because I think my weight loss diet may actually be working against me when it comes to building strength. I eat a lot of salads almost always with some kind of protein in it like grilled chicken or ham and chopped hard boiled eggs and cheese. Breakfast will be something like a banana or a hard boiled egg, a couple strips of bacon, maybe a protein bar. I have made a concerted effort to cut out the bread and carbs and it really helped in weight loss, wondering if I need to put some back in. After working out I have a protein shake every night with whey powder. Sometimes it's half a banana, maybe another type of fruit like strawberries, a scoop of yogurt and orange juice... other times it might be the powder, half a banana, a big scoop of peanut butter with milk. I try to mix it up to keep it interesting but I think you get the idea.
Quote:
The answer invariably will end up being enjoy yourself, lift heavy, and eat more cals and protein to build muscle.
That is the balance I'm trying to find. I will enjoy myself if I start seeing more results again. When I do internet searches 90% of what I find is somebody trying to sell me some supplement or magic pill or powder to get huge quick.
I will admit that my motivation is primarily vanity. I do enjoy the health benefits and I love feeling better but I want to look good. To that end I'm looking for a new ab routine as well. I'm close to being able to actually see my abs for the first time in decades and I feel like the routine I've been doing there has also become too easy and largely ineffective.
I really do appreciate the help. 
yebat' Putin
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Supplementing a testosterone probably wouldn't be a bad idea. There are websites like fitday.com and others that provide free calorie counting. You enter what you eat, it counts all the nutritional stuff for you so you can see what tweaks need to be made to your eating habits/diet. If you're drinking soda pop, need to cut that out immediately. Junk food, and although common sense, is really your enemy and should be taken in very light moderation if you want to shred up. Burn more calories than you consume is the formula.
I myself only strength train so I can't vouch on any high intensity or cardio workouts. I heard lots of good about the Insanity workout. If you get to the point where you're happy with weight loss, and want to starting adding muscle, feel free to message me. I am on a five day split working everything but my back (I can't due to injury, but shoulders, biceps, triceps, legs, chest and abs are all targeted.)
Good luck, trying and being more healthy is always a plus regardless of the situation!
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![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/Heldawg/rgiii2.jpg)
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Legend
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Love me some skullcrushers!
Drop sets are great, too.
Pick a weight slightly lighter than you'd normally use, then do a set of 10, followed by a set of 9, then 8, then 7.... finish with doing 1 rep.
I use these for curls and skullcrushers.
Another form of drop set is keeping the reps constant, but lowering the weight. This is best done on a pulley rack so you can change weight quickly.
Pick a weight where you can just barely finish a set of 10. Do a set of 10, then drop the weight one plate (or 5lbs) and do another set, then drop weight again and do another set. This should be done with as little time between sets as possible.
I do them alternating between tricep extensions and curls.... it really fatigues the snot out of your arms!
The shortest possible answer to your question DC is "Change up what you're doing".
The only way to answer the HOW of that question is for you to give us an idea of what you've been doing AND a clear idea of what your goals for this are.
Are you trying to drop fat, are you trying to bulk up, are you just wanting to maintain some form of fitness (in which case, just keep doing what you're doing).
Browns is the Browns
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Quote:
I see comments of people doing the P90X.. Has anyone given the Insanity workout a try?
Me. It's worth it.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
#gmstrong
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Quote:
Quote:
When I have little to no time, I try to incorporate Tabatta workouts. They only take 4 mins to do, but you still feel exhausted.
You sir are a mad man. Tabatas are intennnse. Good recipe for vomiting
I had to google 5:2 diet. Basically a form of intermittent fasting. Gotcha. IF is a godsend coming from the forcefeeding 6 meals stuff Ive done all that stuff, IF can be a pretty easy way to cut. I just finished 6 weeks of protein sparing modified fasting (tuna and tabasco, 1 free meal and 1 maintenance day weekly) A vile way to cut
I have HCM (heart disease where athletes keel over dead) so I actually barely workout nowadays and just diet my way to victory. Down from 215 to 160 at 5'9" from last november but I have no idea what amount was muscle But without any exercise I'm a bit of a flabby mess for now. Need to figure out a good low intensity weight routine so my heart doesnt explode. I'm schooled mostly in high intensity stuff that is now useless knowledge for me
I hear you, man. Tabatta sucks, except for the fact it's only 4 minutes.
I also hear one great workout, and you might want to look into this DC, is the Spartacus workout. I tried it once and felt like it was one hell of a comprehensive workout. I might try to stick with that for a few weeks as a change-up.
As far as your high-intensity expertise, Cob, I'd love to hear what you might recommend in terms of anaerobic stuff.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
#gmstrong
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You are welcome DC. I hope i can be helpful. It is always nice to put some of my pointless reading to good use By advising a cut I mean lowering your calories to lose fat. I said this because you mentioned wanting more definition. Take abs for example.. You could have the best abs in the world, but until you diet down to sub 12% bodyfat you have no way of seeing them. So in terms of visible muscle definition it is usually a matter of getting the fat off of them to make the muscles visible. But if you don't have sufficient bulk (which sounds like your complaint) then a cut wouldnt be useful unless you are dying to see your abs. You are right on about scales, they are essentially useless compared to mirrors. 5'9 170 can mean many different things depending on musclemass and fatmass. I'm 5'9 160 but have little musclemass due to my bum heart. Had I been lifting at this weight I would be shredded 5x5 is a common weight routine meaning 5 sets and 5 reps for the chosen muscle groups. This article explains it fairly well. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw56.htmThis would be simple enough of a guideline to follow. There are plenty of other routines that may better suit you so kind of pick whatever you like. This would differ from your current routine by doing more sets, fewer reps, and likely higher weights. It sounds like that tweak may help your gains. Though your routine sounds like you are covering most muscle groups sufficiently. Adding muscle and losing fat at the same time is a tricky metabolic proposition. Unless you really want a screwy diet (lean gains, cyclic ketogenic, etc.) it is best to do things in phases. 6-10 weeks where you focus on fatloss (called a cut) keeping your lifts about as strong, followed by 6-10 weeks of muscle gain (called bulking) eating more calories and protein, focusing on improving your strength and muscle mass. Then cycling between the two as needed. If you have been doing weightloss for a long time and want to see more strength gains you can always start a bulk. Out of curiosity, what level is your carb intake at in terms of gram per day? For lifting heavy or aerobically intense events, being too low on carbs can be an issue. Carbs can be useful for adding muscle for a variety of reasons, I would recommend bumping up to 100g/day if you are below that. Make sure you are getting a good chunk of protein daily to keep your gains up. The recommendations out there vary wildly from 60-300 grams for your weight. 130-200 grams daily seems like a safe low/high recommendation range to me. You likely have about 145 lbs of lean body mass (spitball estimate). Supplements besides multivitamins, fish oil, and creatine are basically worthless. Testosterone is great for muscle gain, but tinkering around with supplements can do more harm than good. Based on your weight and goals I can recommend a few different things. If vanity is your goal, and you want to see your abs. You need to get down to sub 12% bodyfat. I suspect (if you weigh 175) you are at about 17% bodyfat. Dropping down to 165 is about when you will start seeing your abs, likely even lower. It sounds like you are doing a weight loss diet and lifting, which is a good way to achieve that goal. You can cut back your calories or increase your cardio to increase your rate of fatloss. If you are in the mood for extreme fatloss I can detail a severe protein sparing fast for you (2-3.5 lbs of fatloss a week). But it is a pain if you dont like eating nothing but protein for every meal When you start wanting big biceps or shoulders/back you'll need to focus more on muscle building/bulking than fatloss. For now with abs the name of the game is fatloss. And it sounds as if you are on a good track for it. Hope this is helpful. Im on an ipod so sorry if anything is janky or confusing Let me know if you have further questions or need clarification.
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j/c
Can someone explain what they do with the 5x5? I've seen this before, but don't know what it entails.
And I've been trying to get into jumping rope. Any rope jumpers out there?
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High intensity anerobic seems like a recipe for injury to me. I've read a few routines for it with squats, deadlifts, and press, but it is sort of odd. Things like tabatas tend to be more about sprinting etc. Kettlebell swing tabatas are a decent combination of anerobic high intensity you could look into. Just make sure you keep your glutes tight or you are going to annihilate your lower back. Seems to me combining HIIT and weight lifting is best done seperately rather than cranking out heavy lifts. The injury risk is really high compared to the benefits.
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Legend
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Quote:
I see comments of people doing the P90X.. Has anyone given the Insanity workout a try?
Insanity can be tough if your just starting out. Most people I know progresses from p90x to insanity, and then p90x plus.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Right up my alley. I've been bodybuilding for about 7 years now. I've read it all, I've tried it all. I cut down from 250lbs down to 165lbs. Then bulked back up (muscle) to my current weight of 200 at about 15% BF. Which is not exactly lean but lean isn't what I'm going for as much as beast mode. If you want my help I will require a few things. Find out what your body fat percentage is. Caliper or a bod pod is best, but those silly hand tools they have at the gym will work as well. The simplest Advice I can give you, I have given many times. go to the bodybuilding.com main page use the search feature look up a bmr calculator use the calculator multiple your body weight in lbs x 1.25, that's your protein intake(multiply by 4 to get the calories) of the bmr number you got back, multiply by .3 then divide by 9, that is the minimum amount of fat you should intake. And if its a clean diet, they are good fats,(cottage cheese, fish, peanut butter, cashews, flax seed, efa's, etc.) I should be able to manipulate your carbs and fats from there dependent on your needs. I can go more in depth on what to eat if needed. PM me with questions, I rarely visit this section. For any advanced BBers here, I strongly recommend going out to Layne Norton's website and watching his video blogs. Some really, really good information on diet, metabolism, training, really everything. All very good stuff. King are you a miscer by chance? 
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Quote:
King are you a miscer by chance?
Caught me
per DC's question about aesthetics I assumed he wants lean brad pitt fight club and not russian powerlifter. but you are a good example of the differing desires in aesthetics.
I think protein amounts based on weight can go kind of wild when you arent lean. 20 lbs of extra fat really doesnt deserve eating another 25g of protein. It gets absurd for obese people. I tend to think 1g/lb of lbm for maintenance, 1.25g for gains. But the field is really crazy in their recommendations in terms of range. I tend to think lower is needed than most advice I see.
17% bodyfat is my guess for you DC, basing that on bmi charting and a year of lifting. I seocnd that getting caliper tested or a dexa/bodpod would be really handy. And bodybuilding.com forums are a treasure trove of knowledge.
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Quote:
Quote:
King are you a miscer by chance?
Caught me
per DC's question about aesthetics I assumed he wants lean brad pitt fight club and not russian powerlifter. but you are a good example of the differing desires in aesthetics.
I think protein amounts based on weight can go kind of wild when you arent lean. 20 lbs of extra fat really doesnt deserve eating another 25g of protein. It gets absurd for obese people. I tend to think 1g/lb of lbm for maintenance, 1.25g for gains. But the field is really crazy in their recommendations in terms of range. I tend to think lower is needed than most advice I see.
17% bodyfat is my guess for you DC, basing that on bmi charting and a year of lifting. I seocnd that getting caliper tested or a dexa/bodpod would be really handy. And bodybuilding.com forums are a treasure trove of knowledge.
I agree, I only take in about 180-200g of protein but if he's looking to lose weight I'd up it to preserve the muscle, that's just me though. I literally have to blend up smoothies of sweet potato to meet my carb intake most days.
I started a bodybuilding thread on Brownchat about two years ago. I actually got some people involved. I am pretty sure that "Gonewiththedawgs" started outright bbing when I made that thread. He's looking good these days.
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Legend
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Quote:
per DC's question about aesthetics I assumed he wants lean brad pitt fight club and not russian powerlifter.
Yep, going for more the underwear model look more than the power lifter look.
the only sport I play with any regularity any more is golf so I need to maintain decent range of motion through my arms and shoulders and even my hips (which I don't over-rotate which is why I have very good power and accuracy on my driver)...
There is a lot of good information here and I will go through it tonight when I get home and see what questions I need to answer but this is most helpful... much more so than scanning website after website and trying to figure out what is reliable and what is not.
yebat' Putin
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Legend
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People have already mentioned this, but I'll reiterate...
1. Rest. If you have been going hard 6 days a week for several months or longer, take a week off. Summers in college, I would work at a scrap metal yard through the week and half days on Saturday. It was a manual labor-type job that had me huffing and puffing throughout the day and also sore at night. After a while I got used to it, and was definitely getting stronger. When I finished up for the summer, I decided that I would wait a week to begin lifting again (for fitness and ice hockey). Over 5 days of rest (the first in about 4-5 months) I put on about 6-7 lbs of muscle and felt absolutely fantastic. That really impressed upon me the importance of a rest period.
2. Swimming. Swimming is a butt-kicker. Someone told me that swimming is (relatively) the most calorie-intensive exercise you can do. Yes, you can make any activity more and more intense, but time and time again nothing takes it out of me faster than laps in the pool.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
-PrplPplEater
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I will go fully contrarian on the rest thing.
You DO need rest. You will NEVER need to take a whole week off unless you are injured or have been over-training (a sustained, extended period of insufficient rest/recovery for the amount of training you have been doing).
You SHOULD build in easy weeks as a sort of "active recovery" week, and definitely build in rest days to every week - or, at least stagger your workouts so that major muscle groups get plenty of rest between sessions. i.e. don't go heavy on chest on back to back days... put in legs, arms, or back in there to give those muscles time to consolidate the gains made.
Gains do not happen when you are in the gym. You are simply imparting a stimulus to the body with the goal of triggering a specific growth response from the body. It is during periods of rest & recovery that, with proper nutrition, your body will provide these responses and growth. So, you absolutely need to ensure that the things you work get time to recover, but as long as you never hit a point of over-training, you shouldn't EVER need to take a full week off.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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Legend
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Quote:
j/c
Can someone explain what they do with the 5x5? I've seen this before, but don't know what it entails.
And I've been trying to get into jumping rope. Any rope jumpers out there?
5 sets of 5 reps 3x per week using basic compound movements. Squats, bench, deadlift and overhead press and a rowing movement. You start out light and increase the weights each workout until you stall. It's an old, tried and true method that's hung around because it works and is easy to follow.. There are different variations floating around, the most popular being Stronglifts 5x5 and Starting Strength.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
- John Muir
#GMSTRONG
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Quote:
Quote:
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King are you a miscer by chance?
Caught me
per DC's question about aesthetics I assumed he wants lean brad pitt fight club and not russian powerlifter. but you are a good example of the differing desires in aesthetics.
I think protein amounts based on weight can go kind of wild when you arent lean. 20 lbs of extra fat really doesnt deserve eating another 25g of protein. It gets absurd for obese people. I tend to think 1g/lb of lbm for maintenance, 1.25g for gains. But the field is really crazy in their recommendations in terms of range. I tend to think lower is needed than most advice I see.
17% bodyfat is my guess for you DC, basing that on bmi charting and a year of lifting. I seocnd that getting caliper tested or a dexa/bodpod would be really handy. And bodybuilding.com forums are a treasure trove of knowledge.
I agree, I only take in about 180-200g of protein but if he's looking to lose weight I'd up it to preserve the muscle, that's just me though. I literally have to blend up smoothies of sweet potato to meet my carb intake most days.
I started a bodybuilding thread on Brownchat about two years ago. I actually got some people involved. I am pretty sure that "Gonewiththedawgs" started outright bbing when I made that thread. He's looking good these days.
Thank you sir.
I started lifting in late 2010. I was weighing at 225lbs. I got hip with bodybuilding.com started on the beginner program:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=155009423
With that I went from 225 to 145lbs in 6-7 months. Now I weight 154 (home scale says 153, gym says 156 IDK).
Now I'm doing an intermediate program:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=135025731
Now, my bench press has not been successful as of late. When I start my program, I start with my have at 140lbs, if I pass, I go up 10lbs next week. I have got to 180 and failed.
Any advice on how to improve it? I don't take any protein powders. That may change tho. I still got some body fat to work off.
![[Linked Image from i442.photobucket.com]](http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq142/TroneColby/gwtdsig2.jpg)
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Where are your hands on the bar?
Almost every casual lifter has their hands way too far out. They need to be no farther out than your shoulders. I like mine in tight so that they're just barely wider that my torso at my pecs. That really hits the pecs the best and you can lift a lot more weight. You may be able to lift as much as 25 more pounds with just a grip adjustment.
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Maybe that's it. I grip outside the shoulders. I do fine until I get to the heavy sets. Should I try sticking my arms straight out then grip the bar whenever the arms are?
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Some very good advice in this post, wish I would have got here sooner. I'm kind of a fitness buff (no pun) Master Fitness trainer in the army and an avid BB myself. Just a comment on bench technique. I see so many people doing it wrong and doing it dangerously just for the sake of weight. If you are trying to go for weight, never go more than shoulder width apart. should width apart is perfect to activate the chest muscle. Close the grip and you can activate tri's very well. The wide grip on bench isn't something to so other than warmup as you will injure your shoulders that way. One thing i like to do is go as wide as I can with a very light weight, (in my case 135), Ill do 15-20 reps that way, then move my hands in half that distance to my shoulder width distance, do another 15-20, then a 3rd warm up set same rep range at the hand position I'm going to do my working sets. If your goal is strength increase, do high weight/low rep (4-6) If your going for scultping, low weight/high rep (12-15). That being said, I almost never do flat bench with barbell anymore. I prefer strictly to DB for flat, i'll still do barbell for incline/decline. But one of the most effective things I've found when doing any large muscle group is to pyramid your sets. Start with 12-15 reps and work up till you are doing 3-4 reps of heavy weight and then work back up to high rep. Finish your set for that muscle group with a burn out set 25-100 reps of light weight. Also, don't bounce the weight off your chest. Thats the biggest pet peeve i have when training someone..If you can't control the weight through the motion, use lighter weight. Keep your shoulder blades tucked back and it will make the distance the bar has to travel shorter and you will target the pecs more.
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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Without putting any weight on the bar lay down and put your hands about shoulder width apart or just slightly outside. Then take it down slowly keeping your elbows tucked in closer to your torso. Don't let them flare way out!
And if at the bottom while the bar is laying on your chest your hands are about three inches outside your torso then you're in the right position. You may notice your triceps will be a little more sore than normal but that's ok. (This is not a close grip bench press...for that your hands are even further inside).
It's a pec exercise not a shoulder exercise and getting your hands in will let you fire that larger muscle group harder. With the weight you're doing, with the right form I see you doing 180 no problem your first time trying it.
Bring the bar straight down and straight up with your elbows in! I can't stress that enough.
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Legend
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j/c
While a lot of people here are lifting experts, admittedly I am NOT. I lift just to stay toned, but never for weight increase; my body type is thin and lean and I'm a runner/basketball player.
I will say in terms of cardio interval training is a big key. I know I didn't see any improvements for a while and then someone turned me onto incorporating burpees/sprints into my workouts ... and I saw a big improvement immediately. Some days I will do 6-8 sprints of 50 meters. Some days I will do 100 burpees. Some days I will go on the cross trainer for 5 minutes HARD, do some burpees/wall jumps, and then return ... and then alternate.
I just know that high intensity exercise for cardio is something that is needed. It is better for your body to work extremely hard for 5 minutes than it is to run slowly for 50.
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
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Ok. I'm gone try that. I had my elbows flared out. I knew something was wrong if my bent over row was going good but not the bench press.
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Quote:
Workout Advice Needed
DONT DO IT........Grab a fudge bar or a moon pie and just sit down on your couch.....Did you know more people blow out thier knees from running than they do lying on thier couch.....Did you know more people rip shoulder muscles playing tennis than they do unwrapping ice cream bars....just something to think about....
Go ahead & lift weights, thier heavy....I've always been told it's better to lift small amounts...(12 oz) over a extended period, and no better place to do that than at a bar.....So there you deside...
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Ok. Just left the gym.
This is a deload week for me so I took it easy.
I did as suggested and kept my elbows tucked.
My 1st warm-up (45lbs) was good. My 2nd (70lbs) was fine as well, It felt different than usual but easy.
Now my 3rd and final was suppose to be 130 x 5, but I decided to try my 140x3 since I'm restarting it next week. Well I barely made it with my elbows tucked in. My old way I didn't stuggle as much but this time I can tell the difference. More pressure on my triceps than my forearms and shoulders. At the end I can actually feel my chest, something I don't usually get.
So, I now know I got some work to do next week:
Monday (4 sets)
45x10
70x10
140x 3
115x10
Thursday (3 sets)
45x10
70x10
140x5
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Don't tuck your elbows to extreme either, and if you are feeling it more in the triceps than chest, widen your grip, its not an exact science, start at shoulder width and go in small increments wider until it feels comfortable. your elbows should be 45 degrees from your torso. Also, learn to drive with your legs, when you unrack tighten everything up before lowering the bar. keep your upper back and ass touching at all times. taking a deep breath will help keep your shoulder blades back. And remember, the bar isn't going to go straight up and down, should start just below your chin and end at the bottom or just below your pec, Heres the best video i've see that will show that. Link
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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I'd say 30 degrees would be ideal but a lot of people I see are near 90. 45 degrees is certainly ok but I like the elbows in a little more. And I agree that hand position is a matter of preference as well within a defined range. Most people have them beyond that range. I'd say I have them in the range but closer to the inside of the range. One thing I don't agree with is driving through your legs. As far as I know he's just trying to stronger, not do any competitive lifting. So I'd recommend he just use his legs as an anchor to stabilize himself on the bench. While he could lift more by driving through his legs it's not great for the back and body and he should be concentrating on just getting his chest stronger. I know if I saw a guy driving through his legs on anything less than 225 I'd kind of chuckle. And 225 is being generous...probably 315 I guess would be ok. He's not there yet so lets have him concentrating on proper form and getting that chest strong. You make an important point at the end. The bar once unracked should be right above your collar bone. And when you lower it it should hit your nipples (I said nipples). So yes not straight up and down and that's an important point. Last tip....squeeze the bar. Hard. Picture yourself crushing it in your hands. Squeeze hard.
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