help me with my work out strategy.
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Joined: Dec 2005
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Originally Posted by LegendaryHarry,Jan 7 2008, 02:31 PM
heres a bit more info:
im 19
im about 5'7'' at 120ish lbs.
basically im a pretty small young guy haha.
__________________________________________________ __________
im serious but not serious. in the sense that this is just another thing im adding to my life and probably wont venture so far as protien shakes or changing my diet too much.
i dont drink soda cept on occasion (max maybe 1 time for dinner or something)
i will eat out on occasion as well (with friends and what not)
my goal is just build a little mass to even out body proportions and then tone so it doesnt look like just fat.
thanks for the help so far guys
im 19
im about 5'7'' at 120ish lbs.
basically im a pretty small young guy haha.
__________________________________________________ __________
im serious but not serious. in the sense that this is just another thing im adding to my life and probably wont venture so far as protien shakes or changing my diet too much.
i dont drink soda cept on occasion (max maybe 1 time for dinner or something)
i will eat out on occasion as well (with friends and what not)
my goal is just build a little mass to even out body proportions and then tone so it doesnt look like just fat.
thanks for the help so far guys
Although, I'm not too sure about the whole working out everyday. The body and its muscles do need time to recover.
With my workout plan, I tend to divide everything up evenly. That means like an excerise of each muscle group; chest, biceps, triceps, back, core, shoulders, and legs. And I only work out 4 - 5 times a week. Currently, I'm 5'10 and about 205ish. Its mostly muscle because I need to stay in shape for baseball, I'm somewhere between 10-12% body fat so...
For you, I would recomend that start off small and do large sets of about 10-15 of each excerise. I feel this is what would get you what you want.
Also, you need to eat your butt off. Lay off the junk off (if you do eat it) and try to eat as healthy as possible.
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Joined: Dec 2005
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From: Connecticut
I would start out with heavy weight, low reps. This will built strength in both muscle and connective tissue. At his size, I can't imagine he's very strong. The workout I linked above is performed 3x a week and focuses on heavy compound movements which are key to building strength. After a few months he can switch up the routine or modify it to focus on high rep sets needed to build mass.
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,937
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From: NY, NY
At the age of 19 and 120lbs. You don't need to do much cardio. I'd recommend eating a crap load of pasta, bread, chicken, salmon and steak. Hit the gym at least 4 times a week to weight lift. At your age, your body should be recovering faster and metabolism should be sky high.
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Oxnard
There are a lot of great and helpful tips here that people have posted, like others have said, each individual's body responds differently, so since your just starting out i'd say:
Monday-chest/triceps (cardio) make sure you bench press
Tuesday-back/biceps perform deadlifts to build strength
Wednesday-legs (cardio) squats will help you get stronger in the long run
Thursday-shoulders shoulder presses will build bigger shoulders
Friday-off (cardio)
Saturday-off
Sunday-off
Since you are skinny already, you really don't have to do much cardio, but it will definitely build stamina and also help you push more reps in the gym in the future. I'd stick to a basic 3 set/10-12 rep per exercise routine for the first 4-6 weeks. After about a month, you've already started to build strength and form, so you will need to change up the routine since your muscles are starting to get use to what you've been doing the passed 4 weeks. Make sure you hit the compound movements, other exercises such as lateral raises for your shoulders are excellent, but you don't have to go heavy on them since there a shaping exercise and your looking to build mass first. You can also work your abs, forearms, and calves everyday if you wish, they don't need the typical 48-72hr recovery period like the other muscles. Also stay clear of working out your chest/shoulders/triceps, try and schedule them atleast 48hrs apart since your triceps are already being worked out when you hit your chest and shoulders and you definltey do not want to overtrain.
Some people also take supplements while others try to stay away from them. If you walk in any gym and ask anyone if there taking something, they'll tell you they are. I started off taking protein, i'd stack it with glutamine, creatine, and I now take hmb for recovery. Make sure you split up your eating habits as well, take in 6 small meals a day with each meal providing a decent amount of protein and complex carbs. I'd stick to chicken, pasta (since your trying to gain mass), steak, vegetables, oatmeal, wheat bread, brown rice, fruit, tuna, fish. All these have a great amount of protein and complex carbs you need to build mass. Last but not least, make sure you sleep atleast 7.5-8hrs per night. If your not getting your sleep, your body will not recover properly and you won't see the gains your shooting for. If i happen to miss anything, my apologies, i'm @ work. But this should be a great start for you, good luck and hopefully you stick to the routine you come up with. Also, go to your local book store and pick up a muscle and fitness magazine, they have great tips on how to build mass, eating properly, and supplements to take in.
Monday-chest/triceps (cardio) make sure you bench press
Tuesday-back/biceps perform deadlifts to build strength
Wednesday-legs (cardio) squats will help you get stronger in the long run
Thursday-shoulders shoulder presses will build bigger shoulders
Friday-off (cardio)
Saturday-off
Sunday-off
Since you are skinny already, you really don't have to do much cardio, but it will definitely build stamina and also help you push more reps in the gym in the future. I'd stick to a basic 3 set/10-12 rep per exercise routine for the first 4-6 weeks. After about a month, you've already started to build strength and form, so you will need to change up the routine since your muscles are starting to get use to what you've been doing the passed 4 weeks. Make sure you hit the compound movements, other exercises such as lateral raises for your shoulders are excellent, but you don't have to go heavy on them since there a shaping exercise and your looking to build mass first. You can also work your abs, forearms, and calves everyday if you wish, they don't need the typical 48-72hr recovery period like the other muscles. Also stay clear of working out your chest/shoulders/triceps, try and schedule them atleast 48hrs apart since your triceps are already being worked out when you hit your chest and shoulders and you definltey do not want to overtrain.
Some people also take supplements while others try to stay away from them. If you walk in any gym and ask anyone if there taking something, they'll tell you they are. I started off taking protein, i'd stack it with glutamine, creatine, and I now take hmb for recovery. Make sure you split up your eating habits as well, take in 6 small meals a day with each meal providing a decent amount of protein and complex carbs. I'd stick to chicken, pasta (since your trying to gain mass), steak, vegetables, oatmeal, wheat bread, brown rice, fruit, tuna, fish. All these have a great amount of protein and complex carbs you need to build mass. Last but not least, make sure you sleep atleast 7.5-8hrs per night. If your not getting your sleep, your body will not recover properly and you won't see the gains your shooting for. If i happen to miss anything, my apologies, i'm @ work. But this should be a great start for you, good luck and hopefully you stick to the routine you come up with. Also, go to your local book store and pick up a muscle and fitness magazine, they have great tips on how to build mass, eating properly, and supplements to take in.
