screw 24 hour fitness. Like I said, everytime I think of that incident and their whole scam-attitude, it just makes me work out harder. I have work out equipment at home and use my neighborhood as a track. No, I don't need to pay to use a treadmill in some stuffy, sweat-smelling, place.

I once saw a video about the Shaolin Monks and man, their workout equipment will make my measely little bench and weights look hi tech. I'm talking about lifting heavy stones and things like that as weights. Yet these guys are literally super human.

redmeat is good, but since I have hi cholesterol I have to stick with other protein/low fat/chol sources like fish (tuna mainly), pork, etc.

 

alright since no one brought it up i will. ANDRO. there are no real long term tests on it yet, but i've been lifting for just about a year. (im only 18) i go about 5 times a week. andro is only healthy if it is taken correctly, on for a month, off for a month. i took it for the 1st time in december and i gained 11 pounds in 5 weeks. im a lightweight so this was huge for me. it worked like nothing else. i also take protien, but dont feel that it does anything, just fills me up until i hit the bathroom 2 hours later. as far as routine goes. day 1. chest and tri's, day 2. bi's and shoulders, day 3. legs and back, rest day 4, then repeat.

-Dave

 

I've been told that 1.2 g x your body weight (lbs) of protein per day will result in quick gains if you are exercising regularly. I typically aim for 8-10 reps per set of any weight training exercise I do, and always focus on extracting the very last bit of energy from my muscles on the last rep (Don't let the weight go down without giving your very last bit of strength). DON'T BENCH PRESS THIS WAY IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SPOT.

I have my gym days divided into 3 categories:

Day 1: Chest & Tricep

5-10 minutes of cardio to get heart rate up
30-40 minutes of chest (always vary your exercises, there are plenty of different types of exercises for each muscle group)
2 leg muscle groups (3-4 sets per muscle group)
30-40 minutes of tricep
10-15 minutes of stomach or lower back & sides (I alternate ab and lower back/sides each visit)

Day 2: Shoulders, neck, and cardio

5-10 minutes of cardio
30-40 minutes of shoulders
10-15 minutes of neck and rear shoulders (reverse pec deck, shoulder shrugs, etc.)
20-25 minutes of cardio
10-15 minutes of abs or lower back/sides

Day 3: Upper back & bicep

5-10 minutes of cardio
30-40 minutes of upper back
2 leg muscle groups
30-40 minutes of biceps & forearms (remember to do hammer curls)
10-15 minutes of abs or lower back/sides


At home I do pushups, curls, shoulder shrugs, and/or shoulder presses with free weights, dead lifts, tricep dips (put your hands on the edge of your coffee table and lift your body weight). Lately I've been doing 3-4 sets of abs 2-3 times a day in front of the TV whenever I have a few minutes to spare, and that's been making a big difference. Pushups are very important, they work quite a few different muscle groups on your upper body and will bulk you up in no time.

Diet is very important, too - Buy some protein powder at GNC if you don't have any protein-rich food readily available. Some great protein-rich foods are eggs, ground turkey (I make myself a turkey burger on the stove just about every day), tuna out of the can, fresh fish, frozen chicken breasts, any microwaveable food that has a good protein-fat ratio (15g of protein to 9g of fat is pretty decent). The best way to bulk up quickly is to eat 5-6 meals a day with about 30 grams of protein per meal.

 

i've learned not to "over-exert" oneself during your reps because I've pulled one too many shoulders, rotator cuffs, etc., to do things that way. Besides, one injury will set you back weeks and that sucks.

I always use free weights instead of machines because balancing the weights is just as much a workout as actually lifting it. With a machine you don't worry about balance, so you could do a bench press using 60% of your strength from your right side and 40% from your left and you would never know you're going to end up looking lopsided. To equal the safety of the machines when using my free weights, I just make sure I don't use more weight than is safe.

 

How much have you gained?

I started working out 2 years ago at 140lbs and now I'm around 170 (been at this weight for a year now). BTW, I'm 5'8". When I started, I bench pressed at 185lbs and now I'm at 335lbs. Most of my gains were in the first year. I've been slacking somewhat for the past half year.

 

Well I find that pulling muscles is more a result of improper stretching and improper form. I've done this myself, especially with upper back exercises because I wasn't using proper form. I agree with using free weights, you can spend a year exercising your chest on a machine but when you sit down at a bench to do some presses, you won't be able to balance the bar because you weren't exercising certain smaller muscles. I try and strike a good balance between machine and free weight exercises - I find it's easier to max out a muscle on a machine, but free weights will exercise a wider variety of muscles.

 

I weightlift.... I gotta get my body out of bed somehow

Seriously, I do cardio and calisthenic excercises, trying to reduce my weight after my back injury (which has healed now, thankfully)

 

I lift every day...mmm doing it for 10 years now, pretty strong I guess. I'm usually the strongest guy there or almost. Sometimes there are some people taking roids who might be stronger but I don't count them. I have the strongest legs for sure, natural thank mom. Before I lift I usually do cardio for 20 mins to warm up. I'd doesn't zap me too much so I still have energy for the lifting. No creatine any more. I see nothing wrong with it. You have to drink large amounts of water when on creatine. If not your body will build up too much water weight.

Sam

 

me lifts every other day...
and runs as often as possible.

 

I used to be a gym freak...lately studying for the MCAT and working in Microbiology have consumed a whole lot of my time...

I was in my prime 3 years ago in the Navy:
Weight 184lbs
bench: 320
Squat: 455

-tore my right lateral Meniscus and had surgery to remove a benign tumor-

Now I am trying my best to get back into my optimal shape...I lost about 12 lbs of muscle, but that will come back in due time! It sucks hearing my friends talk about how strong I was "back in the day"...and that was only a few years ago!

A note on creatine:
You do NOT need to load. Anyone who tells you different is misinformed. I did field studies on loading/vs not loading, and there was no difference...
CELL TECH is too much sugar, IMO. I have read promising studies that suggest only 5 grams of glucose are needed per 5 grams of creatine for an effective transport system. I used to train with an amateur body builder, and he would put a 5 gram scoop of pure creatine monohydrate in his mouth, and wash it down with a couple of gulps of grape juice. It worked for him, and it worked for me.
I tried ANOTESTAN, but started getting a little bit of rage, so I cut it out completely.