lifting weights

[Sniper82]

How does more muscle form when lifting weights? I know its a slow process but what does it do tear your muscle and more grows? Dumb question but I dont know much on how your muscles grow.

Also would I be better off putting on the maximum weight I can lift and do it as many times as I can or putting less so I can do more reps? Which would work best? I am wanting to build muscle here so whats the best tech on doing so ya think?

 

[kami]

When you lift, your muscles "break down" and when they rebuild themselves they are bigger. You do not grow more muscle tissue, your exising tissue (the "strings" of muscle) just expand. This is why resting is just as important as the actual lifting. People who lift every day are getting themselves nowhere.

The best thing for bulking up quickly is to to high intensity training. Take the heaviest weight you can handle...and if you can only do 3 reps, who cares? The point is to work until your muscles fail. TOTAL failure. Add some more protein to your diet and you'll build quickly doing this. And oh yeah, lift 3 days a week MAX.

 

[Ulfwald]

But also don't forget, Cardio vascular is also important. Your body needs to be efficient at carryoing oxygen to the muscle fibers, otherwise they fatigue faster. One technique I used was working 1 body part a day, IE Arms and chest one day, back and shoulders the next. Abs everyday. Legs everyday, especially the calves.

Youcan also go to the Bodybuilding website for some good sound advice.

 

[kami]

Oh yeah, and one more thing... WATER! Drink like a gallon per day.

 

[GreenBeret]

Doing a lot of reps with little resistance results in a "cut" look, but not real strength.

 

[Dedpuhl]

less weight + more reps = definition
more weight + less reps = mass

 

[Madcowz]

KAMI: While resting is important, I highly doubt the person working out 2 times a week is going to get NEAR the same results as another working out daily. Yes I agree spanning out your weight lifting sessions is more efficient, but if you want to be huge you got to have a huge workload.

And yes, heavier weights/less reps gets your faster results and bigger muscles, but lighter weights/more reps gets you toned and gives you more definition. If you want to be big, I suggest hitting the gym twice a week, getting 8+ hours a sleep a day, drinking a lot of fluids, and eating a lot of high carb/high protein foods. If you want to be lean or lose weight do the same except bring down the carb intake.

 

[GroundOO]

woh woh, where'd you learn this? Lower weight, more reps is the way to go. With heavier weights you just make yourself tired faster and risk hurting yourself because you can't control it. You're right about resting a few days in between; remember, you can get just as good a workout with less weight, it just takes longer.

edit: Hate to burst your bubbles but size does NOT equal strength! It's kind of like simple science, density compared to size. I guess I can attest to this myself, my left bicep is bigger yet my right is by far the strongest.

 

[Rudee]

You got it wrong. Muscle definition doesn't come from any particular exercise or repetition scheme - it comes from your diet.

All the high-rep exercises in the world will do nothing for you until your diet is adjusted accordinly.

This comes from someone who has competed in the amateur bodybuilding circuit for over a decade - Me!

 

[fir3wir3]

this reminds me

I need to get back in the gym

I've been saying I would...I used to love having a six pack

takes months of work to get one...and a few weeks to lose it

 

[kami]

<< woh woh, where'd you learn this? Lower weight, more reps is the way to go. With heavier weights you just make yourself tired faster and risk hurting yourself because you can't control it. >>


every bodybuilding publication would disagree with you.
this guy wants to build, and that is the way you do it. You'd be stupid to go to a point where you KNOW it would hurt you.

Madcowz: the biggest guys I've seen only work 1 or 2 days a week, or if they work 3 days a week (it's never more) they only do one or two groups of muscles every day.

 

[Sniper82]

ok thing is I use to lift weights about a year ago and did it for almost a year when I was doing it. I was doing 3 sets of each exercise and would wait 3mins inbetween sets. Also I did 6 different exercises. I did this for 3 and sometimes 4 days in a row then rest a day or 2 then I would repeat it and like I said did this almost a year.

Well doing it like that burnt me out and made me not want to do it anymore. I am looking for a easyer way. Could I do like one set of each exercise as many times as I can till my muscles fail and do it about 4 or 5 times a week and still build pretty good/fast?

 

[kami]

Yes, but you don't need to do it 4 or 5 times a week. Do it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And if you do end up doing cardio as well, don't do cardio on your off days...then it isn't exactly rest is it? Abs recover quickly, so you could do those 5 times a week if you like.

 

[jimmyle]

hey...the muscle breaks down, and then when it regenerates, the muscle grows
i think

 

[kami]

did you read the thread?

 

[TuffGuy]

i've found the following to work for me:

monday - chest
tuesday - back
wednesday - delts
thursday - arms (tris and bis)
friday - legs

workouts last about an hour, and i rest on weekends. of course, eat more protein, but do not cut anything out. just eat moderate amounts of everything and make sure that you use what you eat. for cardio i play b-ball or raquetball. running doesn't really work for me. using this routine i was able to &quot;win&quot; the powerlifting competition here at ucla in the 149lb and under weight division. (i'm 6') i benched 340lbs and squated 295lbs. (legs are not my strong point)

kami - the biggest guys I've seen only work 1 or 2 days a week, or if they work 3 days a week (it's never more) they only do one or two groups of muscles every day.

there's a reason for that. it's called juice.

 

[Renob]

Rudee show us some pics let see how well it has worked for you.....

 

[HomerSapien]

When you see people working out everyday, i can guarantee you that they are not working the same muscles everyday. Legs one day, arms the next. Comes out to 3 times a week.

i do this
%50(warmup)10 reps, 60-70% (8-10 reps) and then a 70-80%(6-8reps or how many you can, if i feel like 10 then i do ten) But i only rest 30 seconds to a minute between sets or i do other exercises in between. It varies from what you are comfortable with.

Renob: Rudee is making the point that if you eat high fat content and high calorie diets, your just going to get fat, even if you work out. Your diet is as important as lifting, if not more.

 

[JayPatel]

personally i dont beleive in the heavier = bigger philosophy.......for me...its working with as much weight as i can handle while still being able to maintain a controlled set....then..ill add on as i feel stronger all the while keeping my rest and wait times down to about 45 secs to a minute...u want to get that heartrate up to burn calories and to maximize your muscle volume. waiting 3 mins is useless...ever watch that bowflex infomercial.....that guy knows what hes talking about. supersetting also works...from one excercise to the next...work on one thing and then when uve done your set work on another group of muscles....

 

[Fireman]

This site has some useful info. Click on current or back issues to find the articles.

 

[Sniper82]

JayPatel

Do you do more than one sets of one exercise? If so how many? Oh and BTW I dont go to the gym and got my own weight bench and the manual that came with it has tips and techs on how to build and it said do 3 sets of each exercise and wait 3mins inbetween sets. Maybe thats the old school?

 

[madmacks]

funny thing thats true

i use to watch alot of those espn fitness shows... good god those girls are hot! anyways i use to watch so much that i seeped weightlifting information into my head without knowing it. like in growing pains when mike seaver wanted to cheat by writing answers on his shoes but by cheating, he also retained the information. same deal here. so i go to the gym and suddenly im my own personal trainer... kills two birds with one stone

 

[Antisocial Virge]

I work out 4 times a week, one major and one minor body group a day and each workout lasts about 1/2 an hour. Total sets less than 10 per bodypart and about 3 per exercise. I'm in and out before most people finish one bodypart and I can lift about twice the weight they can do.


Funny gym stories : How many people have people at thier gym that sound like they are giving birth? I have two guys at mine that just scream at each other when lifting. What makes it even more funny is I think they just started after New Years Eve.

This site is kinda funny :Bodybuilding beefs

 

[pdo]

Any of you guys using Creatine? I need to get some on Monday and don't know which brand to get..

 

[Antisocial Virge]

.paldo

As long as its pure stuff ..go for the cheapest I've tried a few different brands, they all seem the same. The liquid did nothing for me though.