# bodybuilding/workout



## R1KK1 BFG (Jun 17, 2009)

Im just wondering do we have any "bodybuilders" on here ?


Im after some advice.....

Im starting the gym again (after getting the "all clear" on my leg) and im after some advice/exercises.

I want to mainly bulk up (increase muscle size and strength) to my upper body whats the best way to do this and are there any specific exercises so i can combine them all for a workout ?

Whats the best protein shake available ? (i.e one from holland and barrats )

Creatine : anyone have any knowledge/experiance on this.

sorry to sound like im starting another how do i do this and that thread i honnestly knew it all but since being taken back due to injury and everything thats happened ive forgot it all....

im 6ft 12.5 stone if thats any help.

TIA Richard.


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Hi pal, if it's size you wantthen it's diet you need to sort. Lofting doesn't add size, eating does. Also don't just concentrate on upper body, that's a fast track way to multiple injuries. Training wise, concentrate on compound exercises, they are ones that involve multiple muscles and groups as appose to iscolating individual muscles. Squats, dead lifts, wide grip pull ups and bench press. Check out affordable suppliments and my protien for reattach offers and good advice. Hth


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## Ryan Hughes (Jun 15, 2009)

I found some very useful videos on youtube. Search Scott Herman on YT and have a look through the workout vids. He also had vids on how to increase muscle mass and bigger muscles.

As for protein i use Ultimate whey protein from http://www.discount-supplements.co.uk/


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## Kristy (Apr 4, 2010)

As Stangalang said pay as much if not more attention to your diet than training, if you havent lifted for a while your body will respond (for a while) to pretty much anything you do in the gym as long as you train hard.
At 6ft and 12.5 stone I'm guesing your pretty lean (I'm 5'8 and 14stone with an inch to pinch) so instead of a protein shake I'd go with a weight gainer, see how that goes and if you find your gaining to much fat switch to a protein shake, I get all of my stuff from here http://www.explosivenutrition.co.uk/

Also any kind of shake should be taken ontop of your regular meals not replace them, try if you can to eat 4/5 food meals a day (not always possible) then top your calories with shakes if what you want is purely to bulk up.

Creatine will help you add more weight but most of it will be fluid retention, in lamens terms it helps pump more blood (and nutrients that help build muscle) into your muscles thus making them bigger.

Personally I always cycle creatine as I train better when taking it, for me the pump I get when taking it helps me train far harder than when I'm not which always helps, i also enjoy training more. I normally gain 5/6 lbs when I start using it after a lay off and more often than not lose the same when I stop:lol:

Training wise and I know this may sound counter productive but don't spend to much time in the gym, Of course it depends on your body (we are all different) but if you want to gain weight I'd say four days a week, an hour max on the weights and no cardio.

Concentrate on compound movements ie excersises that involve more than one muscle group when performing for example a free weight bench press will involve your chest, shoulders, triceps, forearms and to a certain extent even your back and legs.
Free weight squats will work many body parts other than just your legs, the same for bent over barbell rows, deadlifts etc etc.

With free weights you don't just have to lift the weight with the designated muscle for the excersive you have to balance and stabilise it at the same time which if why so many other muscle groups come into play, take squats for example, yes your legs are doing the lifting (up/down) but the weight is ontop of your shoudlers, your upper body is still 'holding/balancing' the weight that your legs are lifting.
Thats not to say don't use machines or isolation movements try them all within time and set routines, chop and change, mix it up.

For bigger body parts I normally do 2 compounds and 2/3 machines/isolation exercises though as I said it's always chainging, sometimes I'll just do compounds sometimes just machines/isolations.

Ultimately we are all different and react to things in different ways, take in all the advice and knowledge you can and make your own decisions, try them all and see what works for you.

You'll get very detailed info on training routines and diet picking up a mag from your local newsagents or WHsmiths, read them back to back and you'll find all the info your after.

http://www.musculardevelopment.com/
http://www.flex-magazine.co.uk/?gcl...1283298941&JTID=90998852&OGID=318&network=GAW
http://info.muscle-fitness.co.uk/?g...1283299322&JTID=90998852&OGID=281&network=GAW


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## SubtleAggressiv (Jul 17, 2010)

Yea basically what everyone else was talking about.

I have a list of some of the excercises I like to do when I hit the gym but use caution IF your going to train legs. I dont know whats wrong or how bad the injury to your leg is but I recommend that you do train legs as it is a major muscle group (basically everything below the waist) and also because it might get embarrassing if you have a huge upper body and chicken legs :lol:

*1st day*
Chest - Warm up throughly then I normally do;
Bench press 4/6 sets 15, 15, 12, 12, 10, 10 or 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6 
Incline bench press 4 sets 15, 12, 10, 8
Flat or incline Flyes 4 sets ^
parallel bar Dips (going all the way down and half way up to work lower chest) 4 sets to failure

Other excercises for chest are
dumbbell press -decline, incline and flat
dumbbell pull over 4 sets 15, 12, 10,8
Cable crossover 4 sets 15,12 etc
Low pull cross over 4 sets ^
Pec deck 4 sets 15,12 etc

Biceps - 
EZ bar bicep curls 4 or 6 sets 
Hammer 4 sets
Concentration curls 4 sets

Other excercises for biceps are
dumb bell curl 4 sets 20, 15,12,10
incline dumb bell curl 4 sets ^ or 15,12,10,8
chin ups 4 sets 4 sets of 15 or to failure depending on when you are doing this excercise (beginning or end)
Reverse curl 4 sets 15,12 etc
Seated preacher curl dumbbell or machine 4 or 6 sets 30,20,15,12,10,8 or 15,12,10,8

Calves -
On the leg press machine, feet half on half off and extend food foward and slowly back as far as you can for full motion 6 or 8sets 50, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10 going heavy and blasting those calves. 
Seated calf raises - 4 or 6 sets 30, 20, 15, 12, 10, 10 or
Standing calf raises standing on something that will allow full motion do 150reps with legs together and feet pointing outwards then rest for a minute or so then 150 reps with feet in neutral position (pointing straight forward) and repeat 1 more time with feet pointing inwards. Thats 450reps total

Other excercises I like for calves are
Donkey - where someone sits on your back while you are bent over and then its 6 sets of calf raises,30,20,15,12,10,8 or start off with higher reps if you can handle it. It looks a bit funny but is a great excercise.

*2nd Day*
Legs - warm up then;
Hamstrings 6 sets 20, 15, 12 etc
Squats with the bar behind the neck 6 sets 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 6 (going heavy for the last set/s) legs shoulder length apart and toes facing foward going parallel or better if your able.
Leg press 4sets 20, 15, 12, 10
Roman chair superset with leg extentions 4 sets 20, 15, 10, 8 on both

Other excercise for legs are:
Lunges 4 sets 15, 12 etc
squat jumps (using light weight) 4 sets minimum of 15reps
Straight leg deadlift 4 or 6 sets 15,15,12,12,10,10 or 15,12 etc

Triceps
Seated pushdowns which are dips but you have greater control of weight or dips (Can use two benches and dip between those with weight) 6sets 20, 15, 12 etc
Close grip bench press hands close together, elbows tucked in using a EZ bar or Olympic(straight) bar if your wrists can handle it 4 or 6 sets 15, 15, 12, 12, 10, 10
Pushdowns 4sets 15, 12, 10, 8

Other excercises for triceps are
dumbbell kickbacks

*3rd day*
Back - warm up then
Bent-over row 6sets 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6
lat pull down 4 sets 15, 12, 10, 8
Cable row close grip 4 sets 15, 12, 10, 8
Deadlift 4 sets 15, 12, 10, 8

Other excercise I like to do for back are;
One arm rows 4 sets 15,12 etc
pull ups with a wide grip 4 or 6 sets 
Pull overs on the machine 4 sets 15, 12

Shoulders
Military press 4 sets 15,12,10,8 
Lateral raises 4 sets 15 or 15,12,10,8 going heavier
Bent over reverse flye (keep back straight) 4 sets 15,12,10,8
Upright row 4 sets 15,12,10,8
Shrugs 4 sets 20, 15, 12, 10

I also like to change and add these excercises
Power-cleans - standing position with straight bar infront of you hands slightly wider than shoulder length, lift the bar up to your shoulder and "snap" your arms underneath in a clean and jerk motion, then push bar upwards and down again to the shoulders and back down so your arms are straight down. 4 or 6sets 15, 15, 12,12,10,10 or 15, 12, 10, 8. Becareful of doing this excercise after training back.
Front raises 4 sets 15,12 etc

I like to change this around and mix up the reps and excercises all the time, depends on how my body feels. If you dont know how to do a certain excercise I suggest getting someone who knows what they're doing to show you.
I hope this helps as it worked for me but I did mine over a 5 day split for each day I trained a bodypart or sometimes two.

I wrote this list of excercises out for someone training on a 3 day split but you can break it down into a 5 day split easily.

If you are training any part of legs, without knowing what your injuries are I can only suggest you find out what range of motion and weaknesses you have in your leg and if your happy then warm up thoroughly and start training with no weight. So if you are able to squat properly then do this without any weight going slowly down and only slightly faster on the positive (up) part of the movement, 50 reps x 3 sets. I dont think I have to say but make sure you go parallel or lower (if your able). Then when your injuries have gone start on light weight with the excercises above.

All protein shakes are essentially the same, but when I tried Holland and Barrats range it didnt suit my tastes buds so now I have a tub of Mass-Fury which is more expensive but great quality and brilliant for bulking up. If finances are tight then you could get a tub of protein from H&B and then add some finely blended oats into the protein shake and this will give you a good amount of carbs and protein. Im not sure if the oats should be cooked first or what as I havent tried this way of doing things, also the Mass-fury I use has oats pre-mixed :thumb:

Finally, as for creatine I would say stay off of it for now. I can only speak from personal experience but I only use creatine when I've reached a bit of a plateau so taking it would give me a bit of a boost to push that slightly heavier weight or get a couple more reps as well as an increase in bulk. Use it for 3months on and 3 months off I think (cant remember but read instructions on the back) as constant use wont give the best or safest results.

Oh and dont forget to eat properly! If you cant handle 6 evenly spaced meals a day then start with 4 and work your way up. I could only ever eat 5 meals a day but that didnt stop me growing. Good luck !


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## dogs_basket (Aug 28, 2007)

Have a think about if you want bulk or strength. Your routines will vary (although they're not mutually exclusive) according to which one. 

And learn to love the Cottage Cheese aisle in the supermarket :argie:


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## thehogester (Jun 15, 2008)

For your protein, id suggest looking at http://www.myprotein.co.uk

If you do make an order, use the code MP27954 to get 5% off your first order.


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## Ben_ZS (Sep 28, 2008)

Most has already been covered :lol: 

Have a search on YouTube for Muscle Fitness + back/chest/shoulders/abs/arms/legs. All simple but effective workouts.

I'm 6ft and was 12.5st this time last year. After hard work, good diet & supplements, I am a quite lean 14st.

Muscle Milk is a good protein powder that I've used. Although I am currently one the Gaspari trio.

-SuperPump 250 (Pre workout Nitric Oxide)
-Size On (Creatine+Amino Acids during workout)
-MyoFusion (excellent protein powder)


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## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Do protein powders etc work when you have extremely high metabolism? I can eat loads and don't put on any weight...fat people hate me.


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## Ben_ZS (Sep 28, 2008)

jamest said:


> Do protein powders etc work when you have extremely high metabolism? I can eat loads and don't put on any weight...fat people hate me.


Yea, all the protein your body needs will be used, high metabolism or not. Maybe in your case try and take in more Casein protein which is the slowest realeased protein.


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

jamest said:


> Do protein powders etc work when you have extremely high metabolism? I can eat loads and don't put on any weight...fat people hate me.


They are a must for a fast metabolism, although look to weight gainers in you are a hard gainer. Try something high in protein and carbs, but not sugars or fat. Straight after training, and i mean immediatly, have a dedicated post workout shake and have a caesin protein before bed to stop catabolism. Calories is the only way


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## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

Most of what you need has been covered above, all I would add is make sure you have something to eat or drink immediately after your workout as this is the best time for optimum absorption. I tend to have a protein mix shake or a tuna sandwich (also high in protein).

As for supplements, I can recommend Hurricane XS from MYPROTEIN.COM it also contains creatine, go for the smooth chocolate flavour. Their MY BARS are also good for a pre-workout snack. :thumb:

Alex


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

Some great and highly informative posts here that a lot of members will get benefit from I'm sure, so cheers gents :thumb:


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## Guest (Sep 1, 2010)

Take a look at Starting Strength or Strong Lifts. These are beginner strength training programmes using compound lifts. Both use the basic barbell squat as the core exercise. Once you can squat 1.5x your bodyweight you move onto other programmes to progress even further.

I'm actually following the Strong Lifts programme but I've just ordered the Starting Strength book to use as a resource.

Also, the beginner guides on the John Stone Fitness forum are very good for understanding the importance of nutrition.


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## SubtleAggressiv (Jul 17, 2010)

High metabolism or not you will need to eat a proper meal or a protein shake every 3 hours or so. The body can only digest and absorb a certain amount of nutrients over a certain time period so dont over do it. I think its 1 gram of protein per pound in body weight so just take that total and space it throughout your meals in the day. Dont take too many protein shakes (no more than 3 a day) as actual food is better and more filling for you.

If you are eating every 3 hours then you will keep your body topped up with nutrients it needs to grow so dont worry. I also have a very fast metabolism but this way of doing things worked for me.

Casein is an excellent protein source taken before bed as its slowly digested. You can take it at any time of day but its recommended that a protein shake /mass gainer be taken during the day so your muscles get those nutrients it needs to grow and casein will keep your body topped up during the night. If you regularly wake up during the night to go to the toilet for example then have a casein shake ready by your bed to drink. 

If your serious on the weight training then think about vitamin and mineral supplements to look after your joints and replace any vitamins and minerals that have been depleted through training or day to day. A good multi-vitamin is a good start, as well as pure cod liver oil (joints), glucosamine (joints). There are hundreds of others, just do some research and get some good quality supplements. Word of warning; dont overdose with the vitamins, too much of certain vitamins are actually bad for you. E.g Pure COD liver oil with vitamin A, B & D should not be taken with a multi vitamin that already provides you with 100% Recommended Daily Intake of these vitamins. I think its because certain vitamins are oil based and too much of these will cause the body to store it which is detrimental to your health. (Dont quote me though, I need to do more research on this but I believe it to be true atm)


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## dogs_basket (Aug 28, 2007)

EliteCarCare said:


> ... is make sure you have something to eat or drink immediately after your workout as this is the best time for optimum absorption.


Just read this today and you might find it interesting (August 27th Number 4).

http://monstersupplements.com/blog/


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## Ben_ZS (Sep 28, 2008)

Oh I use www.bodyshapersfitness.com excellent service and probably the cheapest out there.


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## SubtleAggressiv (Jul 17, 2010)

http://www.bodyshapersfitness.com/weight_gainers/muscletech_mass-tech_new_formula_2_3kg.htm Mass-Tech is really good but there are sometimes much better deals on this at GNC - £25 a tub! http://www.gnc.co.uk/sports-nutrition/weight-gain-products/muscletech-mass-tech-/product.htm

http://www.bodyshapersfitness.com/weight_loss/universalanimalcuts-animal_cuts_42ct.htm really good supplement for cutting down


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## MarkH (Dec 10, 2006)

I have competed at weightlifting for approx 20 years, and the most important advice I could give is take it easy at the start, build up slowly and be consistent. 
I have seen many a good lifter put off by routines involving too much work, too soon.

Start off with three sets per bodypart per week and go up a set per bodypart each fortnight, until you find it difficult to make gains or get stronger. This will basically means you hit your limit and need to back off and wait before moving forward again.


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