I need a Strength training program

[bigiphish41]

I need to add some muscle, any advice on a workout would be helpful. Let me know whatcha got

[newlook]

I have been thinking about this also going to look at gyms this weekend. walking is not enough

[trexlee001]

This is actually my thing man.. This is something I know about.

I competed as a Professional Strongman and held a National Ranking in two different powerlifting Federations for over a decade.. That's part of what got me in the position of being so big and eating so much in the first place. Then of course life happened and injuries happened and I stopped hitting the gym like I used to but still pulled up to the table the same.

Anyway,

A couple of good simple rules when it comes to exercise routines is hit your weights first and hit Cardio second. Compound movements are king and free weights are MUCH better than machines.

Compound movements are Squats, deadlifts, Over head presses, bench pressing, bent over barbell rows, snatch, cleans etc.. These will do so much more for you than crawling into a machine.

There are tons of canned programs out there that work great when getting started and will literally work for everyone for quite a few months before you will need to really start changing things up. Google "5X5 training" or Dual factor Hypertrohic training" read up on "HIT Training" and incorporate that into your cardio routine instead of just walking or jogging in place at the same boring speed for the same amount of time.


If you put your email in here or pm it to me I'll send you a pretty basic weight lifting routine. It will have some machine work in it as I originally wrote it for a guy who didn't have access to a lot of equipment and only had access to a very small gym but it's a good routine that will help you add some muscle all the way around. (I tried to post it here but it won't let me post a word.doc)

[CharlieFarley]

Good thread!

Any views on kettlebells..?

[bigiphish41]

trexlee- my email is tf.sgroi@gmail.com

[trexlee001]

Good thread!

Any views on kettlebells..?

Kettlebell training is great. I toyed around with them quite a bit a few years ago but eventually dedicated my dynamic training days to chains bands and sled work.

Elitefts has a ton of great training articles on Kettlebell training but if you're looking for just some introductory information on how to perform the exercises with kettlebells and kind of canned beginners routine I found this on BB.com and I looked it over and it seems pretty solid

Bodybuilding.com - 5x5 Kettlebell Training: Build Greater Size & Strength!

Honestly for guys who are just introducing themselves into the world of weight training I am a big believer in 5X5 as a training program. it's not very complicated and it's heavy on compound exercises and it's fairly time friendly. Now with that being said I think a watered down version would be better for people who are on a restricted calorie intake like sleevers. I just don't think it would be easy to get enough of the right kind of nutrition necessary to do the workouts right and add a ton of mass and still drop fat. The sleeve is going to make adding any serious amount of muscle tough.. It will however harden muscle, increase definition and greatly reduce muscle catabolism (keep your body from using muscle instead of fat for fuel) which is what we're after. Muscle is so much more dense and active than fat and the more muscle we have the higher our metabolism will be and the more fat we will burn.

Every guy out there who walks into a gym thinks that by lifting weights he will add a lot of muscle and lose fat at the same time. That has to be the biggest misconception in the fitness world. For a natural lifter it is EXTREMELY difficult to add real muscle mass and lose real fat at the same time. Serious Bodybuilders and Strongmen will always ask you.. "what is your goal?" When they're asked about weight routines. .. Do you want to add muscle or do you want to cut fat? A good rule is that You can't bulk and cut at the same time so why spin your wheels trying?. Now, I didn't say it was impossible to add muscle and cut fat at the same time.. it's just tough. New guys who hit the weight room and stick with it will see decent returns pretty quick.. Those quick gains slow down pretty quick and after a month or two will start to frustrate lifters so they tend to do more of what worked before too soon. they over train, they get wore down and they stop seeing success in the mirror and on the scale. Overtraining is a hard animal for new lifters to over come too.. You see some guys who will bench press 3 or 4 times per week.. or they'll bench press and do bicep curls during every workout.. What you eat is just as important to adding muscle as what you do in the gym... I know I've kind of gotten off in the weeds here and have started to kind of ramble so I'll cut myself off now.


In about 1-2 weeks I intend on making myself a guinea pig with regard to weight training, muscle building and diet after a gastric sleeve.

I will be taking notes, photographs and I will do my best to keep a running log of what I'm doing in the gym and at the dinner table. Hopefully I'll have some good success

- Rex

[CharlieFarley]

Thanks for the link. Bookmarked!

On that page:

...Here is how [5x5] works.

Pick a training weight and do five sets of five reps. If and when you can complete all sets of five, increase the weight by 5-to-10 pounds and shoot for five sets of five again. Take 3-minute breaks in between each set.

That sounds to me like we should be able to be close to finishing all sets of five... but not actually quite manage it because that means we should step up the weight (or difficulty). Do I understand it correctly..?

[trexlee001]

Yes, that is exactly right. You want to pick a weight that is challenging but not overwhelming. Ultimately you want to work with a weight that you can perform for 5 reps but not 6-7. That's the point of it.

Thanks for the link. Bookmarked!

On that page:


That sounds to me like we should be able to be close to finishing all sets of five... but not actually quite manage it because that means we should step up the weight (or difficulty). Do I understand it correctly..?