Need Some Questions Answered

I have been working out in the gym for a little over 3 months now, i’ve been lookin stuff up about muscle buildin when i can, and i hve some questions.

  1. How do you build muscle when there is not a lot of food available, aside from junk food, and fast food places, like in college for example?

  2. How much do you rest between sets in order to get big? I see many different numbers in this from sources, like 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, even 3 minutes

  3. What is the point of isolation workouts?

  4. This is my routine at the moment. Is this routine effective? that i dont know, if it isnt what changes do i need to make to it.

MOnday: Back and Biceps:
Lat Pull Downs: 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
V bar Pull Downs: 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Rows: 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Dumbell Rows: 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Bicep Curls: 2 sets 8 to 12 reps

Wednesday: Legs
Squats 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
Leg Press 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
Lunges 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
Deadlift: 3 sets 1o to 15 reps
Calf Raises: 2 sets 20 to 30 reps

Friday: Triceps Chest Shoulders
Shoulder Press. 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
incline bench. 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Bench 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Upright Barbell Row. 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Tricep extension. 2 sets 8 to 12 reps

Sunday: Abs
Captains Chairs: 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
Crunches 3 sets 10 to 15 reps

[quote]meteor685 wrote:

  1. How do you build muscle when there is not a lot of food available, aside from junk food, and fast food places, like in college for example?[/quote]
    You eat what you need to eat to grow if growth is your goal.
    Plenty of food available in college if you make it a priority.

[quote]
2. How much do you rest between sets in order to get big? I see many different numbers in this from sources, like 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, even 3 minutes[/quote]
60 sec. Seriously who cares? This is such a small issue you needn’t worry.

[quote]
3. What is the point of isolation workouts?[/quote]
To isolate specific muscles into growing.
I would also suggest you not worry about this and simply lift heavy complexes for now.

[quote]
4. This is my routine at the moment. Is this routine effective? that i dont know, if it isnt what changes do i need to make to it.[/quote]
I didn’t even look at it.
Get a real program.
Search: 5/3/1, Juggernaut Method, “Do this routine instead of that dumb one”, etc.
Don’t reinvent the wheel, use a real routine designed with your goals in mind.

^what he said.
Also - there is always food avaliable

[quote]caveman101 wrote:
^what he said.
Also - there is always food avaliable[/quote]

Seriously. I’m in college now, and it’s easy as hell to eat well. You don’t have to cook or anything!

I too am in college right now. It can be tough with such a crazy schedule, but once its part of your normal routine its not hard at all.

Never leave for school without breakfast. Make sandwiches. Fill shaker with raw oatmeal and protein powder, add water at school before drinking. Make a trip to like bulk barn and load up on healthy snacks like almonds.

Once you learn how to shop for your own food, you’ll find junk food is actually more expensive.

[quote]meteor685 wrote:

MOnday: Back and Biceps:
Lat Pull Downs: 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
V bar Pull Downs: 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Rows: 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Dumbell Rows: 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Bicep Curls: 2 sets 8 to 12 reps[/quote]
Good to focus on back, but this is a little short of optimal. Move conventional DL’s to the top of this day, after a thorough warm-up, and go heavy (3-5 reps). Then pick one pulldown and one row, and rotate them out periodically. Need more bicep work if you want big arms.

[quote]Wednesday: Legs
Squats 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
Leg Press 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
Lunges 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
Deadlift: 3 sets 1o to 15 reps
Calf Raises: 2 sets 20 to 30 reps[/quote]
Again, go heavy on your first move here. Romanian DL’s would be more useful for hams vs conventional DL’s.

[quote]Friday: Triceps Chest Shoulders
Shoulder Press. 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
incline bench. 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Bench 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Upright Barbell Row. 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Tricep extension. 2 sets 8 to 12 reps[/quote]
It would be a good idea to swap this to Wed. and put legs on Fri. to give your back plenty of time to recover. Go heavy on Press and Bench. More triceps work. Lateral raise instead of Upright rows are a good idea.

[quote]Sunday: Abs
Captains Chairs: 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
Crunches 3 sets 10 to 15 reps

[/quote]
Do ab work as part of your warmup for all your other workouts, and put in more work on this day. Maybe separate shoulders from your chest, or make this an arm day. Don’t waste a day at the gym on abs alone.

Just a starting critique. There is a lot more to be done here, but your program should depend on what you need out of it. Nail down some very specific goals, and make your program to match.

There is always the option of following a pre-made program from someone who knows what they are doing, and that might be best until you build a good strength base, figure out what your weak spots are, and define your goals.

I’m in my fifth year college man. It’s not too bad - live on protein sources. Go to your local Costco or Sam’s Club, get a membership, and stock up on chicken, fish, and canned tuna. If you have a meal plan and have to eat on campus, just make good choices! Don’t eat pizza every meal - grab wraps, chicken sandwiches, fruit, do what you gotta do to make healthy choices. It’s not impossible.

prolly just gonna stick to T-Nation now knowing alot of sites aside from T-Nation are full of shit