Rules, Routines, and Beyond

hey im new here,

Im a small guy 5 ft. 6 inches. around 120lb with a lightening fast metabolism.

I have been working out following routines I get from reading books. I eat as much protein as I can and ‘cheat’ with protein bars, and whey protein… its hard to eat like a pig and to find the time to make all these meals… I stick with peanut butter, yogurt, eggs, meat, and fish.

What I have learnt the most is that small people need to do full body workouts. So I stick with squats, deadlifts, dumbell press, (bench pressing doesnt give me tiny chest enough range it would seem…) and the likes.

I once hurt my shoulder and discovered it is a weak link (i also discovered that my shoulders are not like everyone elses. They dont go up all the way. My range of motion is limited, and therapy only helped so much. I think its my bone structure. Something I cannot change.)

So i added a small exercise for my weak shoulders (reverse flies…they are so weak I use 5 pounds for this exercise)
Slowly I have been adding isolation exercises to my routine for other weak links, tweaking the routine as I see fit.

Is that bad?
All the books say “stick to the routine! Dont add or subtract!”

I am a very “follow the rules” sorta guy and I never know when I can break them, as I am no expert or trainer… though I think I understand the basic principle -eat, workout and sleep…

I have gained some muscle but its not sculpted much… than again im small so I come pre-made with a tiny six pack already… and my biceps are nice…
So any answers or advice on the above or some tips on working out would be cool.
thanks

Basically stick to a beginner routine until you build decent strength.

Also eat a lot then eat more. You’re 120 pounds, you can eat a little dirty.

The reverse flies will help but won’t do much for injury prevention. Try youtube for ideas on how to do external, medial and internal rotation exercises. You can start with a 2k plate, or a band of some kind. Do them as part of your warm-up.
My shoulder used to pop-out in my sleep after a bike accident, I suffered for years until someone showed me how train my rotator cuff.
Even my therapist at the time could only advice me to avoid working out. My shoulder would even pop-out during triceps extensions.
Now over 15 years on my shoulders are still fine.

thanks.
also I was looking for adding exercises to help my posture when i sit. when I stand im ok. when i sit like now at the computer I look a bit hunched like a gorilla.

I googled and found a few good stuff and articles that involve rows and there are even full routines focused on posture…
I think i need to learn more about muscles and how they work so I can be able to understand and grasp fully what I read and be able to tell what my body needs.

In order to improve your posture you need to strengthen your scapula, these exercises are somewhat different to rotator cuff exercises.
I’m supposed to do scapula exercises daily, none require any equipment and are very easy to do.

Some can be done whilst sat in a chair, as long as it has handles, others on the floor, against a wall, some standing up.
It’s good that you are addressing this so soon, it’ll prevent lots of problems in the future. Plus a good posture looks cool too.

[quote]shamai wrote:
…with a lightening fast metabolism.
[/quote]

IMO…this is the wrong way to look at it.
You don’t have a fast metaboloism, you have a very inefficient metabolism. Your body does not make proper use of the food you eat and therefore you have to eat more to overcome this deficiency.

[quote]BlueCollarTr8n wrote:

[quote]shamai wrote:
…with a lightening fast metabolism.
[/quote]

IMO…this is the wrong way to look at it.
You don’t have a fast metaboloism, you have a very inefficient metabolism. Your body does not make proper use of the food you eat and therefore you have to eat more to overcome this deficiency.
[/quote]

Agreed. One of my friend is 5’9 135, says he eats like a pig but doesn’t grow and claims it on his ‘‘rocket fast metabolism’’. After a whole day spent with him, I figured out he was eating nothing over 2500 cals, and this day we had some burgers and fries.

As every other guys here will tell you, if you are underweight, eat more. If you think you’re eating enought, eat even more. Until until you Grow!

well what do you want me to eat already!?
i have fish or chicken every night.
I have eggs every morning. I snack on nuts and peanut butter and protein bars.
lunch is always different and thats the hardest meal for me.

[quote]shamai wrote:
well what do you want me to eat already!?
i have fish or chicken every night.
I have eggs every morning. I snack on nuts and peanut butter and protein bars.
lunch is always different and thats the hardest meal for me.

[/quote]

Well, how many calories are you eating every day? No matter what your answer is, the answer to your question is to eat more of the same foods you have been eating. Eat more = grow more

[quote]shamai wrote:
well what do you want me to eat already!?
i have fish or chicken every night.
I have eggs every morning. I snack on nuts and peanut butter and protein bars.
lunch is always different and thats the hardest meal for me.

[/quote]

lol

I’m 5’4 and started at 115… you can consider me as ‘lightining fast metabolism’. I’m currently sitting at 135 lbs right now, better than where i started off I suppose?

I eat as much as I can throughout the day and right before bed = One large meal + 2 table spoons of peanut butter + 3 straight tablespoons of olive oil.

I pass out 15 minutes after that.

Also… stop eating so clean. I have fast food once a day and sometimes twice a day. My favorite post-workout meal is 2 mcdoubles + medium fry and a 60g protein shake…

follow a basic beginner plan. don’t tweak anything. you don’t know how to tweak yet. As far as eating, just eat more. More of anything. If you’re eating 5 eggs a day, start eating 10. If you eat 1 sandwich now, eat 2. Etc.

It really is that simple.

[quote]BlueCollarTr8n wrote:

[quote]shamai wrote:
…with a lightening fast metabolism.
[/quote]

IMO…this is the wrong way to look at it.
You don’t have a fast metaboloism, you have a very inefficient metabolism. Your body does not make proper use of the food you eat and therefore you have to eat more to overcome this deficiency.
[/quote]

I would say the exact opposite. A fast metabolism is wanted in bodybuildng…because you are more efficient at using calories and not storing them as fat. More can be lost as heat also.

Eat tons of ground turkey ( doesn’t have to be leanest ), whole eggs, ezikeil (sic) bread rice fruits. Avoid fish since you’ll have to eat much more of it considering the calories it would take bulk on white fish.

Geewud! lol you almost sound like a heart attack waiting to happen!

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
follow a basic beginner plan. don’t tweak anything. you don’t know how to tweak yet. As far as eating, just eat more. More of anything. If you’re eating 5 eggs a day, start eating 10. If you eat 1 sandwich now, eat 2. Etc.

It really is that simple.[/quote]

yeah ive been doing that but i found myself in rehab for ignoring my weak right shoulder because the book said not to add!
I now DO tweak the routine by adding a few rotator cuff exercises. I want to add some posture exercises too.

is that so bad?

and when do you find time to eat this stuff!? or make this stuff?
my dad yells at me all the time saying “stop eating so much or youll look like me!! remember one day, your metabolism will slow down… just like mine did…” (in his wedding pictures hes tiny)
that scares me.

how old are you?

in my early 20’s.
why?

Just keep lifting focus on getting stronger in an appropriate rep range and get enough protein and cals in but not so many that you’ll end up getting fat

yeah… when i first started working out over a year ago i was super charged to grow. so I ate a lot! but i had time to eat and there was no money to be made and life was sweet

I gained 20 pounds in 2-3 months but some of it was fat and I was not so happy…
then I hurt my shoulder, went to therapy, fell out of working out for a bit and lost almost all the weight I had gained.
Then I started up again a few months ago. But I have not gained 20 pounds at all…

well if youre not consistent you wont make progress

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]BlueCollarTr8n wrote:

[quote]shamai wrote:
…with a lightening fast metabolism.
[/quote]

IMO…this is the wrong way to look at it.
You don’t have a fast metaboloism, you have a very inefficient metabolism. Your body does not make proper use of the food you eat and therefore you have to eat more to overcome this deficiency.
[/quote]

I would say the exact opposite. A fast metabolism is wanted in bodybuildng…because you are more efficient at using calories and not storing them as fat. More can be lost as heat also.[/quote]

The technical correctness of my statement is not the issue. There is no benefit in the early stages of development to perciving one’s metabolism as fast unless the challange of compensating is embraced. I prefer to address these issues as ‘Monsters’ to be slain; I’m certain you could offer a view that would be just as effective.