Getting On the Right Track

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

I’ve been working out for years but never made the gains I would really like. I’ve been over-training people tell me. I can’t gain size no matter what I do.

I spent hours in the gym doing 100 exercises for each bodypart. sigh I believe the more time I spend in the gym and workout till I drop is the way to go. On every secod day I would do about 6 exercises for every body part not really following any program. It was my own I made up. I went from 5 hours in the gym to about 2 hours. I cut down but people tell me it’s still too much.

I am 5’11 and weight around 155lb. I guess that is on the skinny side. I do 30lb biceps curls :frowning:
I’m tired of working out hard and not seeing results so I come here to ask what program I sgould go with. I would like to gain size and strengh fast.

Pls help me.
thank you,

Anim8

2

Vroom, you better set this guy up with your beginners links!

[Mod Note: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=550116 ]

3

No where do you mention what you’re eating. That makes me think you haven’t put much effort into it, at least not as much as you have your training.

Bottom line: eat with the same enthusiasm and volume as you train and you’ll grow like a sumbitch

4

[quote]Anim8 wrote:

I am 5’11 and weight around 155lb. I guess that is on the skinny side. I do 30lb biceps curls :frowning:
I’m tired of working out hard and not seeing results so I come here to ask what program I sgould go with. I would like to gain size and strengh fast.

Pls help me.
thank you,

Anim8
[/quote]

What is your diet like? Balance and how many calories? And how often a week do you train?

5

I work out 3 times a week.

I have oatmeal for breakfast.
@10 o’clock I have 2 yogurt and a bannana.
@12 I have a sandwich with cheese and salami
@2pm I have an apple.
@5pm I have pasta
After workout @7pm I have protein shake
@9pm I have fish or turkey.

On some day’s I eat more and on some days I eat less.

6

That doesn’t seem to be near enough food. I couldn’t tell from your portions, but I think I ate more than that while cutting. I definitely ate much more than that as an endurance atlete when my focus was not mass.

It also seems protein low. Do a forum search for John Berardi’s ‘Massive Eating’. I started my first bulk, and I’m eating along these guidelines. You don’t have to follow it to a T. The most important thing is to get enough calories and enough protein, but the separation can help with this and also with getting good fats it.

By protein shake, do you mean PWO shake? It’s very important to have fast acting carbs like dex (dextrose) or malto (maltodextrin) post-workout. The recovery drink on the site, Surge, combines everthing for you. It’s excellent. (You can also make your own homegrown which is what I do). What is the nature of your weight training?

(That link above looks terrific!-you should be able to find all you need diet and weight-wise to get yourself on the right track)

7

Not to hijack this thread, but that’s a great thread you put together, Vroom! I really like that OVT program. I’ve started my bulk with something very similar. After some solid time on my current program, I might switch to the exact OVT program just to switch things up a little.

8

[quote]Anim8 wrote:
I work out 3 times a week.

I have oatmeal for breakfast.
@10 o’clock I have 2 yogurt and a bannana.
@12 I have a sandwich with cheese and salami
@2pm I have an apple.
@5pm I have pasta
After workout @7pm I have protein shake
@9pm I have fish or turkey.

On some day’s I eat more and on some days I eat less. [/quote]

What you eat in one day is roughly two meals for me and I usually eat six times a day!!

Regarding your training… You can train hard OR you can train long…
Limit the gymtime to app. one hour 3-4 days a week. That’s more than enough.

Start one of the programs from here and look into nutrition. Diet is VERY important, if you don’t get enough protein and calories you will not grow regardless of how hard you train.

EAT, EAT, EAT and you’ll grow.

Good luck

Oh I forgot, a MUST read is Vroom’s link that was posted earlier, that one will answer probably most (maybe all) of your questions.

9

Good lord.

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Go directly to the beginner link given at the top of this thread.

GO THERE NOW DAMMIT!

Read massive eating.
Keep a food log.
Learn about recovery.
Select a prewritten workout.

DID YOU GO THERE YET?

10

LOL love that post Vroom and I second third or forth the mentioned thread. Diet fix NOW as well as training.

read it and then come back with greater knowledge and questions.

Also have Fun reading/learning,
Phill

11

Interesting read. It seems I eat very little so I’ll need to change the way I eat. Its time to go grocery shopping.
But I hate stuffing myself all day long but I guess it needs to be done. I’ll need a good variety of foods to keep in interesting so I don’t tire of what I eat.
Question
How do I measure my body fat?

Also, I do many sports like mountain biking, hiking, and many other outdoor activities so there are times where I might not eat for several hours. A protein bar might help in this case?

Looking at all the training programs I chose the
OVT: Optimized Volume Training

This program looks a little identical to what I was doing before like working chest/back on 1 day and biceps/triceps 2 days after. So I think I’ll feel comfortable with the variety of exercises in this program.

Day 1: Chest and back

Day 2: Legs and abs

Day 3: Off

Day 4: Biceps and triceps

Day 5: Off

Day 6: Anterior/medial deltoid and rear deltoid

Day 7: Off

Just to make sure I have this right.

A1. is The first exercise in the superset is a big compound movement

A2. is the second exercise in the superset is an isolation movement for the main muscle being worked in the first exercise. This second exercise is also done for five reps, but with a small load and a very slow tempo.

Question about Tempo
What does the number 201 mean?

And a question about rest between sets. I don’t think I understand what is being said here.

A1. Bench press @ rest intervals = none? So I do 25 reps??? no break in between sets? or do I do 5 reps, pause for a few seconds and get at it again?
And 120 seconds break every set in the second exercise??

Day1

Exercise
Sets
Reps
Tempo
Rest intervals

A1. Bench press
5
5
201
None

A2. Flat dumbbell flies
5
5
602
120 seconds

B1. Incline bench press
5
5
201
None

B2. Incline dumbbell flies
5
5
602
120 seconds

C1. Lat pull down
5
5
201
None

C2. 1 arm rowing
5
5
602
120 seconds

D1. Bent-over barbell rowing
5
5
201
None

D2. Seated cable rowing
5
5
602
120 seconds

12

You sound like you might be an ectomorph also.

You already have all the nutrition info you need form those links

BTW,like you said, you might have to force yourself to eat, i often gag on pasta until i finish the bowl.

Its doesnt matter how much you know if you don’t apply it, and if you don’t want “it” enough.

I wish you good luck…know go eat!!

13

At 5’11 and 155 don’t even worry about body fat. At the same weight and 4 inches shorter, I was 9.1%. And you couldn’t call me big by any means. (This is the current goal). This was three weeks ago. I’ve started a serious bulk two weeks ago. A protein bar is better than nothing, but I really don’t know that that’s gonna cut it. You will probably need to bring food with you. If you’re really serious about putting on mass, I think you’re gonna have to limit your activities too. Cardio has its place, but too much is muscle wasting. You’re also gonna have to adjust your food intake up to account for it. I’m guessing you’ve read Berardi’s articles. This is one reason why it has and will continue to play a very minimal part for me during my bulk. I’ve had seen people enter a challenge together on other fitness sites in order to keep motivation at a peak. These are usually fat loss oriented-ie. who can get to 10% first, but they can also be used for bulking. I have a two-week headstart, but we could see who can add the most muscle in the next 4 weeks or 6 weeks or something. Interested?

[quote]Anim8 wrote:
Interesting read. It seems I eat very little so I’ll need to change the way I eat. Its time to go grocery shopping.
But I hate stuffing myself all day long but I guess it needs to be done. I’ll need a good variety of foods to keep in interesting so I don’t tire of what I eat.
Question
How do I measure my body fat?

Also, I do many sports like mountain biking, hiking, and many other outdoor activities so there are times where I might not eat for several hours. A protein bar might help in this case?

Looking at all the training programs I chose the
OVT: Optimized Volume Training

This program looks a little identical to what I was doing before like working chest/back on 1 day and biceps/triceps 2 days after. So I think I’ll feel comfortable with the variety of exercises in this program.

Day 1: Chest and back

Day 2: Legs and abs

Day 3: Off

Day 4: Biceps and triceps

Day 5: Off

Day 6: Anterior/medial deltoid and rear deltoid

Day 7: Off

Just to make sure I have this right.

A1. is The first exercise in the superset is a big compound movement

A2. is the second exercise in the superset is an isolation movement for the main muscle being worked in the first exercise. This second exercise is also done for five reps, but with a small load and a very slow tempo.

Question about Tempo
What does the number 201 mean?

And a question about rest between sets. I don’t think I understand what is being said here.

A1. Bench press @ rest intervals = none? So I do 25 reps??? no break in between sets? or do I do 5 reps, pause for a few seconds and get at it again?
And 120 seconds break every set in the second exercise??

Day1

Exercise
Sets
Reps
Tempo
Rest intervals

A1. Bench press
5
5
201
None

A2. Flat dumbbell flies
5
5
602
120 seconds

B1. Incline bench press
5
5
201
None

B2. Incline dumbbell flies
5
5
602
120 seconds

C1. Lat pull down
5
5
201
None

C2. 1 arm rowing
5
5
602
120 seconds

D1. Bent-over barbell rowing
5
5
201
None

D2. Seated cable rowing
5
5
602
120 seconds

[/quote]

14

Questions I need aswered.

What do they mean by number under tempo? 201, whats this number??

Also when it says rest interval none, what do they mean by this? English is second language so I’m not sure what they mean excatly.

A1. Bench press @ rest intervals = none? So I do 25 reps??? no break in between sets? or do I do 5 reps, pause for a few seconds and get at it again?
And 120 seconds break every set in the second exercise?? hmm

Day1

Exercise
Sets
Reps
Tempo
Rest intervals

A1. Bench press
5
5
201
None

A2. Flat dumbbell flies
5
5
602
120 seconds

thx

15

I answered in response to your PM, but I’ll answer here too, so people don’t answer unecessarily. Definitely NOT 25 straight reps. 5 reps of A1. Bench press followed immediately by 5 reps of A2. dumbell flies = 1 superset. 120 seconds rest after this. Repeat for a total of 5 supersets. I am not quite sure about the timing, but the general idea I get from the article is ‘normal’ explosive lifting for the first part of the superset and a slow, controlled tempo for the second part. If someone more knowledgeable than me could anser this part it would probably help Anim.

[quote]Anim8 wrote:
Questions I need aswered.

What do they mean by number under tempo? 201, whats this number??

Also when it says rest interval none, what do they mean by this? English is second language so I’m not sure what they mean excatly.

A1. Bench press @ rest intervals = none? So I do 25 reps??? no break in between sets? or do I do 5 reps, pause for a few seconds and get at it again?
And 120 seconds break every set in the second exercise?? hmm

Day1

Exercise
Sets
Reps
Tempo
Rest intervals

A1. Bench press
5
5
201
None

A2. Flat dumbbell flies
5
5
602
120 seconds

thx

[/quote]