I have been going to the gym for 6 months, and whilst I am much fitter, less moody, and not podgy around the middle, I still don’t have those killer abs coming on, and I don’t see much muscle definition in my arms. I dont want to look like Arnie, but I would like to look a bit beefier.
Any ideas?
Lose the skin fat
My understanding is the much of the ‘ripped’ look comes from serious diet management as well as the workouts.
For some good advice, try the following links:
askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding/
or
menshealth.com/cda/homepage.do
The answer IMHO is to strike a balance between working out with weights, cardio, and diet.
I work out 5 times per week with weights and each session (±50 minutes) is followed by 30-40 minutes of cardio work. Quite intensive some might say but it only takes about 90 minutes per day. It works for me and I’m in pretty good shape even though I drink at least four beers per night on week days and more on Saturday night.
My diet? Meat, vegetables and fruit. Cut out rice and potatoes (yum-yum) as often as you can.
There. Now get going Mr. Hill. We wanna see before and after photos. 
Hang out with fatter people.
Mens Health just published an article on this subject but with a twist.
A gym in the US has for 6 years insisted on monitoring all the workouts. They then statistically looked at something like 20,000 workouts a year (thats about 100K workouts). They found out the following: -
Muscles take 48 hours to repair after a workout, so there is no point working out with weights every day
You cannot completely isolate different body parts, so you might aswell do a whole body workout each time
They reccomend using different sets of reps each time to the maximum weight you can use and complete the set e.g.: -
5 reps on monday (5 sets)
15 on Wednesday (2 sets)
10 on Friday (3 sets)
This is because each weight will have a different effect;
Small weights wil build stamina
Big weights will build strength
Using this approach on a whole body workout will achieve faster muscle growth (apparently) than any other weights regime.
For those who are used to doing multiple exercises for one muscle group the advice is to split these accross your 3 training sessions so that you still exercise all the parts of the muscle…but remember you cannot truly isolate different muscle parts.
In tests guys following this regime put on double the muscle in 3 months that was put on by traditional weight trainers.
The info all comes from May’s US edition of Men’s Health.
Oh, and the advice above was correct, simply gaining muscle mass is only part of the story, drop the beer and chips to get that buffed look!
Good luck.
I’m not into doing any complicated plan that involves major diet changes, as I know I’ll never stick to it. That being said, I’ve been doing my own extremely simple plan which to my surprise has been rather effective:
Alternate 50-minute MTV Pilates workout 3 days a week (from DVD) and 50-minutes Les Mills Body Combat workout three days a week (downloaded from Emule).
I’m amazed at the amount of weight-loss and increase in muscle definition I’ve experienced in a very short time. But the best thing is, unlike weight-lifting or complicated diets, I’m actually enjoying what I’m doing and in fact will probably start increasing my workouts soon.
[quote=“TomHill”]I have been going to the gym for 6 months, and whilst I am much fitter, less moody, and not podgy around the middle, I still don’t have those killer abs coming on, and I don’t see much muscle definition in my arms. I don’t want to look like Arnie, but I would like to look a bit beefier.
Any ideas?[/quote]
There are 3 body types.
Ectomorph. Skinny frame. lighter bones and less muscle.
Mesomorph. Athletic muscular build.
Endomorph. Heavier bones and goes to fat easily and typically pear shaped.
Ectomorphs are just going to have more trouble building muscle where mesomorphs can just about look in the gym door and gain muscle.
If you’re in the ectomorph category (I am) its harder to build muscle and you just have to settle for what nature gave you and assist it the best you can.
Ironman
My understanding is that is not necessarily true. With the correct diet and training regime you can still add muscle. The likelihood is that your muscles are denser and thus it is easier to build strength then bulk, but the bulk will come. Of course if you are running, cycling and swimming a lot you are not making it any easier to bulk up.
I used to have trouble gaining weight, and now have the opposite issue but I guess that is just age. :s
[quote=“TomHill”]I have been going to the gym for 6 months, and whilst I am much fitter, less moody, and not podgy around the middle, I still don’t have those killer abs coming on, and I don’t see much muscle definition in my arms. I don’t want to look like Arnie, but I would like to look a bit beefier.
Any ideas?[/quote]
You will not be able to get “killer abs” and beefy all at once, pick one or the other. If you want to get beefy, just up your food intake, particularly protein. Once you put on a few pounds it will be time to “cut up” so drop your calorie intake and do a bit more cardio. Think of it this way, you have to build the block of marble before you can chisel your statue.
[quote=“cdn2scoops”][quote=“TomHill”]I have been going to the gym for 6 months, and whilst I am much fitter, less moody, and not podgy around the middle, I still don’t have those killer abs coming on, and I don’t see much muscle definition in my arms. I don’t want to look like Arnie, but I would like to look a bit beefier.
Any ideas?[/quote]
You will not be able to get “killer abs” and beefy all at once, pick one or the other. If you want to get beefy, just up your food intake, particularly protein. Once you put on a few pounds it will be time to “cut up” so drop your calorie intake and do a bit more cardio. Think of it this way, you have to build the block of marble before you can chisel your statue.[/quote]
Agreed but genetics play a huge role in it as well. There are some things people can do that others cannot, correct?
And Ironman is correct as well when he stated the three bodytypes. Essentially that’s the way it goes but there’s the rare hybred of the mediums.
TomHill:
You have to know what your goals are exactly and try not to choose one particular group of muscles over another. You have to balance your physique or you will have some sort of injury. If you’re strengthing your abs then you must strengthen your lower back. The tension you are placing on your lower back as your abs increase in strength is actually amazing. You could find yourself slippin a disk or having lower back pain in the future.
It’s a matter of getting over what parts are your favorates to work on. Train all areas equally.
And those full body workouts are complete bs. You should be training a bodypart a day once per week. So if you happen to be in the gym all week, then so be it. Cardio is the essential key to fitness. Muscles need oxygen (cardio) and time to recoup.
Example: (many variations but this is for those who conserve time)
Day 1:
Morning Cardio 30mins
Chest
Night Cardio 30mins
Day 2:
Morning Cardio 30mins
Back (upper and lower)
Night Cardio 30mins
Day 3:
Morning Cardio 30mins
Shoulders/Traps
Night Cardio 30mins
Day 4:
Morning Cardio 30mins
Legs (this could make ya feel queezy)
Night Cardio 15mins (legs will be full of nitrogen and will burn like hell which could lead to a reverse effect so keep cardio during the night time light)
Day 5:
Morning Cardio 30mins (legs will burn)
Arms
Night Cardio 30mins (should be alright now)
Day 6:
Morning and Night Cardio 45mins
Day 7:
Rest and pig out.
This workout schedule should conserve time. Your weight program should be intense where you’re constantly sweating. Weights should be used for no longer than a cardio session of 25 to 45 mins. I mean intense. Stopping only long enough to catch your breath then pick up the weights again. No talking/socializing. The only time you should be stationary is when you’re on that godforsaken bike.
You measure the level of intensity be the levels of sweat that pours out of you and how thirsty you are during the workout. Water. Lots of it.
Go hard or don’t go at all. I bitch all the time regarding my fitness but when I’m in the gym I’m a complete madman.
To all of those out there that will say - “That’s too much for me…I don’t wanna be like Arny” - Dude, you don’t have a clue what Arny eats or what kind of genetics that man has. It’s a gift coupled with massive amounts of anabolic steroids.
All of you will benefit greatly from this routine or any routine I have mentioned in the past (see: “Instinct Training” thread). It’s about fitness. Overall fitness. Don’t be too worried about how big you’re going to get because you probably won’t be very large at all. But you will become a supreme athelete and look great.
Over and outro.
Hmm 10’s of thousands of workouts statistically measured and analysed against results is BS?
From my own personal experience …YES.
Where would you find the time to hit all angles necessary to gain good solid muscle growth and definition? Your study and others like it do not take into consideration that 1) who the fuck has the time to train the entire body properly in one session and 2) how is it logical to do a few sets of thirty for each muscle and expect quality developement? IIIIII think NOT.
You have many portions of the muscle that are not stressed enough during a standing bicep curl for example. Other angles such as preacher curls and hammer curls stress other areas of the same muscle resulting in a fuller developement both in look and in strength. People have what’s called ‘sticking points’ which means that one area of the muscle is not strong enough to push you past that point in the movement without a ‘spot’.
However, there’s a method to the madness which comes in the form of supersets and drop sets which I have covered in other threads. When you hit your chest group as a primary you’re then using your front deltoids (secondary) and triceps (tertiary) as well, correct? so you can pair these three together in one work out and instead of going to the gym for freeweights all week, you can pair them up and lengthen your workout. But I’m merely stating a time factor that most of you whine about. You’re busy and tired. So shorten the workout times and lengthen the work week. Cardio is essential. Can’t stress it enough. Ideally it should be done all week long…1 hour a day minimum.
Anyway…my own personal experience. Nothing more.
Ooops. Forgot to mention abs. Abs should be done twice a week and to the point where you’re physcially in pain. Only use weighted ab crunches when you’ve gotten to the point where 200 situps in a row seems like nothing. Crunch and hold…Crunch and hold…and so on.
[quote=“M0NSTER”] From my own personal experience …YES.
Where would you find the time to hit all angles necessary to gain good solid muscle growth and definition? Your study and others like it do not take into consideration that 1) who the fuck has the time to train the entire body properly in one session and 2) how is it logical to do a few sets of thirty for each muscle and expect quality developement? IIIIII think NOT. [/quote]
OK, so I didn’t write out the whoel article. The reccomendation is that you split your current work out so that you work different angles on different days.
Come on, I even told you which issue it was you could go out and get the article and read it. Personally I think it makes sense. If you work one muscle group once a week you cannot be getting maximum growth. Your muscles take 48 hours to recover after a workout, maximum growth would therefore come from re-working them every 48 hours.
Edgar Allen:
Please forgive my strong usage of the English language. I happen to be fluent in Profanity.
Yes, you’re correct it takes muscles 48 to 72 hours to regenerate. You should be getting 10 hours of sleep as an athelete but as well all know - that sometimes isn’t the case for some of us. In fact, 10 hours of sleep leads to a healthy lifestyle regardless of your physical prowess.
Notice the training schedule above. I’ve put each group of muscles on a 7 day rotation because as I’ve mentioned (so have you) the body uses other muscle groups (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary) throughout the workout to some degree or another. So in actuality, you are working the whole body everyday. But by concentrating on a certain group daily as well making sure you have given adequate focus on each primary area that insures well developed muscles both in strength and appearance.
Primary, Secondary and Tertiary muscles groups:
Chest, Front Deltoids, Triceps.
Upper Back (Lats), Rear Deltoids, Biceps.
Deltoids (Shoulders), Traps, Triceps.
Legs are the only group that requires just about every mucles in your body. This is why you could feel sick after training legs intensely.
This is a very basic illustration because each excercise involves one area more than another. Each movement should be absolutely strict for beginners. Keep your body tight and avoid swinging the weight. Never do more than you can handle UNTILL you learn how to lift.
As retarded as some of you might think this is - I would stand in the mirror and flex for 20 to 30 mins each day in order to learn about my body and feel exactly where each muscle is and how it operates. FLEX. It’s a good way to know how the muscle works in order to lift properly. In other words, if you know your body then you’ll know the excercise and will be able to do it properly.
[quote=“TomHill”]I have been going to the gym for 6 months, and whilst I am much fitter, less moody, and not podgy around the middle, I still don’t have those killer abs coming on, and I don’t see much muscle definition in my arms. I don’t want to look like Arnie, but I would like to look a bit beefier.
Any ideas?[/quote]
Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.
[quote=“Danimal”][quote=“TomHill”]I have been going to the gym for 6 months, and whilst I am much fitter, less moody, and not podgy around the middle, I still don’t have those killer abs coming on, and I don’t see much muscle definition in my arms. I don’t want to look like Arnie, but I would like to look a bit beefier.
Any ideas?[/quote]
Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.[/quote]
Yep. Diet is a key role in obtaining that ripped look but rely heavily on the amount of activitey you endure each day. I’m wondering if I should ramble on regarding this facet of bodybuilding and atheletic training?
Progression and rest are some of the main stays of an exercise program and explain the apparent contradiction of the 48 hour problem.
Rough overview here.
Beginner.
Work the whole body 3 times a week.
First workout should be restricted to just the one set of 8-10 repetions of each exercise at moderate intensity. Ease upward over 3 months to 3 or 4 sets of each exercise to failure.
Intermediate. 3 to 6 months.
Split the body into 2 workouts twice a week.
Monday, Tuesday = Full Body.
Wednesday = Rest.
Thursday, Friday=Full body.
Saturday, Sunday = rest.
Advanced.
Well, this is where we answer the once a week question. To progress from the above workouts what do you do?
The answer is to train a single body part to failure with huge intensity (but not necessarily duration) and let it rest for a week.
Progression and rest are keys to bodybuilding and the workouts above allow this as the body is building.
Talk to Monster for training programs as he has outlined. 