Weight lifting tips?

[SixStringSuicide]

Lately, and a lot more now that ive got school off for the summer, ive been doing more of a consistant workout routine. The fact is though, ive just been sort of doing things "my way" and i dont know if its the right way. Anyone here a weight lifter? Can you give me some helpful tips on what to do to start off well, what not to do..etc etc. Also, what is "loading stage" in terms of lifting? How exactly long does that last?

Im tired of searching around the net for tips, but only finding websites that endorse books, and when i get to the botton of the page, I get the old "Buy our book..and youll see!" crap. Any good tips would be appreciated. Thanks guys. [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

[Tekky]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

Best bit of advice... Make sure you get enough sleep.

[etaeniura]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

Loading stage typically refers tot he use of creatine in bodybuilding. basically, you double up on the dose for the first week or so, and then back off. The best weightlifitng advice is don't try to do too much, and stay consistent. Vary your routine every few weeks ie/if you spend a good deal of time on the flat bench for a few weeks, for the next few weeks do a different exercise, such as incline bench or even pushups. This will concentrate on different areas of the muscle to prevent overgrowth of other areas. Also, every few months, take a week or so off, to allow full recovery of your muscles. In general it is best to work each area of your body 2, possible three times a week if recover quickly. Also pay attention to you diet if fat loss is your main concern. Don't eat for at least 1-2 hours after working out to allow your body to use up calories from fat stores. If muscle growth is your main concern, eat a high carb meal after working out and eat lots of lean proteins-chicken, turkey, fish, etc. Hope that helps.

[etaeniura]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

Yeah, forgot that one. Sleep is the time when most muscle recovery occurs. However, don't go to sleep immediately after working out-you will be stiff as a board when you wake up, and not in a "morning wood" kind of way.

[MetalGrasshopper]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

Plenty of rest; don't work out the same muscles in two consecutive days...let there be a day's rest period.

Don't swing weights...you'll look like an idiot and you could screw up your joints very badly.

ALWAYS STRETCH BEFORE LIFTING

[jgcable]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

I am a powerlifter. My suggestion is to find a personal trainer in the beginning if you don't know what to do.My son and myself still both have personal trainers and we have been lifting for years. Before you start with free weights you need to strengthen your tendons. We call it tendon training. You can do it by circuit training on the machines. High reps with moderate weight for 6-8 weeks. Then you can start bombing your muscles with free weights. 1 day on... 1 day off. Vary your routines with drop sets and try always to circuit 2 body parts ever work out IE:
Chest and biceps or back
Shoulders and Triceps
Legs and abs
Train hard. The more you put in... the more you will get out. I am 42, 5'8", 194lbs and I bench 385 clean. My son 14 1/2 is 5'2" 111 lbs and he benches 165 clean. Not bad for an old man.
Dumbells work great and you can do entire workouts just using them. It is awesome when you get to the level of using the 115's. They sound like explosions when you drop them. Most guys can't even pick them up!

Train hard. Eat good... rest... Don't drink booze and if you smoke... don't bother working out.
Creatine works but you have to drink mucho water every day. Whey protein works good too. Good luck. My motto... If you want to get big.. you have to lift big weights. Take small steps. Use good form and you will make gains faster than the idiots at the gym who grab the biggest weights and have terrible "dangerous" form. Weight training can change your life if you train properly and consistantly.

[SixStringSuicide]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

Cool thanks guys. Do you reccomend using supplements from the start, or just a good diet? Im looking at mass gain over the next few months of summer, before its back to school again, so are supplements a good thing for that? Or could i do it all without them?

[Lev]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

I would recommend using protein supplements, especially if you find it hard to get 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight. So get some protein shakes, and if you're not gaining as much mass as you'd like, try going for weight gain powders such as N-Large 2, they usually include plenty of protein too.

I use creatine from time to time, it works pretty well but I try to cut back on supplements as much as I can and get what I need from food. At the moment I only use EAS Myoplex protein shakes and TwinLabs Amino Fuel.

[skidd]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

Water Water and More Water

[vwall]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

Alot of good advidce here!

On a side note.
and maybe most importantly...
S-T-R-E-T-C-H!!
(yes your body)
but more importantly,
your fretting hand and fingers!!!
[img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

Man Have I been thru the downs for not doing that!
and it took me several weeks to recoup...

[Deneb]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

I've never stretched before lifting. Other people do, I don't. I've never needed to stretch for anything, however I can kick a 6 foot 2 opponent in the jaw (never done it, but from the years of martial arts, I know I can kick that high.)

Sleep. Sleep is important for your bodies recovery. A good diet helps alot. Don't take in alot of crap. Most anything in a package is bad (by that I mean, Doritos, TastyKakes, Hersheys, Reeses, shit like that).

I am 170, 5 foot, 9 inches. My work out diet (when I worked out) was 2000 calories, 300g of protien, 30g of fat, I can't remember the carbs off hand.

There is a website, I can't remember the URL, just google up AST, and you can read ALOT about body building there.

My supliments varied greatly. Vitamins (not Sentrum or that shit, good kinds, that are not a lair of shit your body doesn't digest) are important.

I didn't use very many suppliments, unless my friend Matt told me to. If it was up to him, I would have had Fish, Chicken, Egg whites, and Oatmeal every meal, all meals, along with meal replacement bars, and about 50-80 pills a day (all shit that is legal mind you, my friend uses supplements, but no juice, he's constantly tested for the comps he competes in.)

2 I think are important are Protein, and Creatine. There are some others that are great, but I can't remember the names, since Matt (a friend) mixed up all that shit for me, since him and I worked out together.

I like to give more than a days rest for some things, like I'd do my arms and back one day, legs another day, so on, so forth, but I remember, I didn't work out things every other day (if I find my notes I can actually give them to you).

I would work my muscles into failure, to where I could move no more. Before any group of working out, I would use a light weight to get warmed up (think of it like stretching), then I would get my work sets in, where I would increase the weight. 16 12 10 8 6 4 1, that's what I did. If you worked your wieghts right, the last one should be harder than hell to do.


The sleeping thing, the above reasons for not sleeping after a work out are wrong Granted, you will still hurt, but there is another reason for not sleeping right after. You work out to build muscle, burn fat, and get your metabloism going. If you go to bed after a workout, you lose that metabolism. If you work out earlier, you keep that up all day.


If you have AIM, my friend would be more than happy to help you, I'm certain, and he can give you photo proof of his accomplishments.

[Miffy rules]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

(I'm asking this for my gf [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] )

What should one do to have a firm ass? [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[1trussell]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

There is a lot of good advice here. Although I notice that quite a bit of the info is related to bodybuilding, not weightlifting. Weightlifting is an Olympic sport dealing with power (clean and jerk and the snatch). Bodybuilding is all about the aesthetic. Then you have powerlifting which is about pure 1 rep strength. Of course, for some of the less traditional, you have Strongman which is what I compete in (pressing logs, lifting stones, flipping tires, pulling trucks, etc.)

Listen to the advice about sleep and proper nutrition, those are just as important as the physical training aspect of things. As far as the actual training is concerned, figure out what your goal is (strength, power, appearance, etc.) then you can decide what is the best method of training for you.

I got my B.S. in Kinesiology (Exercise Science and Coaching). Once you decide what your goals are, let me know and I can give you some tips on proper training.

On a side note, the best way to a firm ass is to do squats and stiff-leg deadlifts. Those two exercises will build up the most muscle in the low-back/glute/hamstring complex. As far as keeping tone, that is an issue of proper diet and cardiovascular training.

[markb]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

Unless you are very big now, with a significant muscle mass, don't bother with supplements (creatine, whey protein etc) they will most likely be a waste of time. You will get too much protein, which your body will just dump or convert to carbs and store. Eat enough, if you want gain. 3000 cal/day would be a bare minimum, depending on your current size. Most likely more will be required, but you have to calculate that. 25% protein, 45% carbs, 30% fat should be your overall ratio, but when you eat what will make a difference.
Your muscles adapt relatively quickly, so you have you increase resistance constantly if you want gain. Try to add 10% to your lift every two weeks at least, for mass increase. You should cyle higher rep (10-15)strength and endurance training with lower rep (6-8 w/ heavier weights) mass building (3 weeks one, 3 weeks the other for balance. You will have to play around with actual weight. Just make sure the last rep is about your limit.
Dont lock your arms or fully extend to a rest posture, keep the tesion on the muscle group the whole sequence. Same with crunches etc, you wouldn't lie right back down between reps, you need to maintain the pressure on the muscles.
You should do cardio 3-4 times a week mixed in with your lifting schedule. Dont go every second day indefinitely, add a third day every once in a while, to aid recovery.
If you are not at full recovery by the nest lift day, or cardio, for that matter, you will have to relook at your regimen and adjust it down , or you will just waste your time.
If your weight does not increase (or it decreases), you are not eating enough. This is the most common error there is with lifting. Your body will always shed muscle mass quickly if there is a deficiency in calorie intake to your expenditure (which includes your resting metabolic rate). Remember, your resting metabolic rate is probably in the 2000 range even if you are inactive, so you can see what is required. I am 6'3 and 210 and under 4000 cal/day, I would not gain muscle.

[ June 09, 2004, 08:48 AM: Message edited by: markpb ]

[Accept2]

Re: Weight lifting tips?

One thing that hasnt been mentioned is the rest period after. Its not just sleep thats important. After the workout, I take a shower, and then get into the old hottub at 104F for 20 minutes. The hot tub is an excellent tool, as the hot water pushes up your blood pressure, and all the acid you created in your blood flows out of your muscles. All your joints and muscles go back to a relaxed position, and its great. Before I wasnt using a hottub, and I would always be sore the next day, and I'd have trouble sleeping after a work out. Now, all of that is gone..........

I got the Bahama model from these guys.........

http://www.coastspas.com/site/html/models/models_f.html