Gym advice

Dick Sirloin

please... stay safe
Jan 6, 2004
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OK, for all the workout/dietetics gurus out there....

I'm well aware that there are probably eighty weightlifting threads floating around, but this one is slightly different. What I'm really looking for is LEAN MUSCLE MASS. I have no desire to get rocked up and drink eight protein shakes a day or any of that.

MY GOALS:
--Again, lean muscle mass. I want to get "cut," I reckon, but still be slim. That's what chicks dig, y'know....
--Lose about 15 pounds (or a couple inches off my waist).
--General fitness and heart health.

MY QUESTIONS:
--How much weight should I lift, and how often? I've heard that more reps on lower settings help build that lean muscle. How should I rotate arms/chest/legs/etc? Upper body every other day, and vice-versa? I've never really bothered with free weights, and just use the machines. Does that make a big difference?
--What type of cardio is the most effective? How should it be balanced with weight training? Should I work out every day of the week?
--What types of foods should I eat, and how often?


Help me get sexy again, people!
 
I'm trying to get back into the gyme as well. Pretty much exactly what I want. Where the fuck are you Ken?
 
OK, for all the workout/dietetics gurus out there....

I'm well aware that there are probably eighty weightlifting threads floating around, but this one is slightly different. What I'm really looking for is LEAN MUSCLE MASS. I have no desire to get rocked up and drink eight protein shakes a day or any of that.

MY GOALS:
--Again, lean muscle mass. I want to get "cut," I reckon, but still be slim. That's what chicks dig, y'know....
--Lose about 15 pounds (or a couple inches off my waist).
--General fitness and heart health.

MY QUESTIONS:
--How much weight should I lift, and how often? I've heard that more reps on lower settings help build that lean muscle. How should I rotate arms/chest/legs/etc? Upper body every other day, and vice-versa? I've never really bothered with free weights, and just use the machines. Does that make a big difference?
--What type of cardio is the most effective? How should it be balanced with weight training? Should I work out every day of the week?
--What types of foods should I eat, and how often?


Help me get sexy again, people!

How much weight should you lift? As much as you can while still keeping the from and full range of motion intact. Do not cheat. Take most of your sets till failure. I do a 15-10-6 rep pyramid scheme. If you can do more than 15 reps of any particular exercise, move the weight up. Obviously on the 10 and 6 sets I bump the weight up significantly from the set of 15. Looking "lean" has almost nothing to do with how you lift. It's all diet and cardio. Do cardio, but do a nice fast paced walk. Do not run or jog (running burns muscle as well as fat while walking will mainly burn fat). Do your walking for atleast 40 minutes (no less). Keep the carbs way down and the protein high if you're looking to get cut.

I do a 6 day rotating program.

Day 1: Chest
2: arms
3: Back
4: Shoulders
5: Legs
6:Chest
7: off

You'll notice that chest got down twice that week. The following week, it will be arms that goes twice and etc. on down the line.

Eat lean ground beef (the leanest you can find), lean steaks (new york strip) lots of egg whites, chicken breast, tuna, and fish. Buy the cheapest grade steaks you can find (the Choice and Prime steaks taste great but the reason is all the fat marbling in the steak). As for carbs I do pasta, rice, baked potatoes, and oatmeal. As long as you're really hitting the gym and cardio hard, how often you eat shouldn't be a problem, unless your metabolism is total crap.
 
Thanks, dude. Just out of curiosity: why do you not worry about your abs? Also, that seems like a long time between arm/chest workouts. But I guess you know what you're doing.

Walking, huh? Sounds boring. What about the stairmaster? That shit makes me sweat like a motherfucker! And again, I'm looking to lose some chubbiness. I don't see how that could be bad.

As far as foods go, I think I'm gonna stick to lean meats (fish, poultry, steak), veggies and whatnot, and do my best to avoid heavy carbs, sweets, cheese, fried foods, fast foods, beer (DUH!), non-diet soft drinks, etc. The "common sense diet" I reckon. I've lost plenty of weight before doing the same thing, so I guess I'll stick to that.
 
I don't really understand the not running thing. Of course long distance runners have mass loss, but why is this a bad thing? Should it really matter if you aren't looking to look like Ken? The way I read Dick's post was that he wants to trim the fat off of his body and have some tone. Wouldn't that help a lot? It also helps the core of your body.
 
Best fat burning exercise is rocking that treadmill incline as high as you can and hitting a speed no higher than 4.5 and walking that and you will sweat, and your calves will get slaughtered.

I'm on 3 day rotation, chest then biceps then tris/back but I don't do shoulders because mine gets all retarded from when I was younger and locks up all the time. Also I finish each workout with P90x2 AB Ripper to keep me losing sexy.

If you want a break down of what I do for each let me know, but i've gained 20 lbs since I started lifting and I just have 2 cool protein shakes a day.
 
Rms, please don't tell me that you don't train legs.

Anyways, I'm short on time but I'll visit this thread later. It looks like Mr. Dick wants his hand held through this whole thing.
 
I'm with Brandon. Fuck the gym. Get outside and run or ride bikes. Lifting weights is so unbelievably boring. Better yet...get involved in some sports. Surely you can find some pick-up basketball games.
 
Rms, please don't tell me that you don't train legs.

Anyways, I'm short on time but I'll visit this thread later. It looks like Mr. Dick wants his hand held through this whole thing.

I don't dude..I'm built for running, and being in the Army not trying to gain mass like that...can run for days though
 
Gym advice: don't go. I walk and do pushups most days of the week. Much more interesting than sharing sweat with weird looking/acting strangers.
 
Yeah, that too - lots of people in the gym are just a little...weird. And not in a good way
 
Thanks, dude. Just out of curiosity: why do you not worry about your abs? Also, that seems like a long time between arm/chest workouts. But I guess you know what you're doing.

Walking, huh? Sounds boring. What about the stairmaster? That shit makes me sweat like a motherfucker! And again, I'm looking to lose some chubbiness. I don't see how that could be bad.

As far as foods go, I think I'm gonna stick to lean meats (fish, poultry, steak), veggies and whatnot, and do my best to avoid heavy carbs, sweets, cheese, fried foods, fast foods, beer (DUH!), non-diet soft drinks, etc. The "common sense diet" I reckon. I've lost plenty of weight before doing the same thing, so I guess I'll stick to that.

I usually throw abs at the end of chest or back. If your bodyfat isn't low enough, you're not gonna see your abs anyway. I also do 100 bodyweight reps of calf raises everyday, whether I'm training or not. Mine respond to repetition more than heavy weights. Just look at the calves of a ballet dancer. I'm not sure what you're referring when you claim it's a big difference between chest and arm days. Arms is the very next day. One day a week gets done twice. They're different muscle groups anyway. As long as you hit them once a week, the difference in time is irrelevant. The stairmaster is perfectly fine by the way. I just wouldn't go as fast as you possibly can on it. Just a nice pace.
 
If you have not lifted before, I recommend starting with a full body routine. Check out the "how much bench" thread for the routine Tully posted. Don't do splits for the first year.
 
Just started the "fuck, why Did I turn in to a little bitch, up the protein and irons routine" yesterday. Spent the past couple months trying to burn some fat, which I successfully did to a point, unfortunately, lost a fair amount of strength during the process, as I wasn't consuming enough protein. Back to gorging like Lee on some pussy, and keeping the fat down by upping cardio. Unless you want to look like Dorian Yates, don't be too afraid to hit cardio hard. Shit's good for your heart. Does 58 yr old Hulk Hogan look healthy to you?