Fitness And Nutrition General

Not sure how to calculate it, but all the (probably anecdotal) commentary on creatine that I've read says that it adds about 5 lbs. of water. I'll see if I can find something better than that.

Also, goodness but that's a lot of carbs. You sure you don't want to get a bit more fat in there? I know you're bulking, but it seems a bit light on fat.

I do less carbs and more fat on my off days. So it kinda averages out at the end of the week.

Off-Days: Protein167g Carbs91g Fat122g

avg is about 5lbs. 10lbs is not unheard of though.

So I wonder if I could get some advice. I've been lifting since the beginning of the year with my cousin who has been bugging me to join and go with him since he worked at the gym for a while(just quit). He has been lifting a few years and is pretty strong I guess. As for me, I have always been thin, like 130lbs, and 5'11", so I wasn't going to the gym to lose weight, but to gain weight and get bigger/stronger.

Since I started, I've gained like 13lbs, was 148lbs today on the scale, but supposedly it's off, so I tried another one in the bathroom at the gym, and it said 145.5. So either I started at 135lbs and am at 148lbs now according to the broken scale, or started at 132lbs and am 145.5lbs. Either way, I've gained weight and am happy.

I think the problem is that I've not gotten much stronger or bigger. Not to say that I haven't, I have, just not a lot. And maybe this is normal and my expectancies are way too high, I don't know? But like today, one kid who works there who I've known for I guess 2 months, asks me, "Do you do shoulder press at all?" to which I said, no not really, we don't really work on shoulders other than bench. So then we went on a spiel about how my cousin doesn't have me do right exercises, and he should help me out more since he has been doing this a while, and I'm still a beginner I suppose.

And a lot of the times, we end up doing the same exercises each day. Our routine is basically...

Monday/Friday - Chest/Back
Tuesday - Biceps/Triceps
Thursday/Sunday - Legs

And as I mentioned, we typically just do the same exercises each day. Like for leg day, I'll start with trapbar deadlift, then do back squats, then maybe leg press, leg extensions/curls, and throw in some calves at the end. Sometimes rarely I'll do walking lunges, or RDL's or goodmornings if I ask him what I should do, but it seems like my legs are never getting stronger.

Same type of thing with back/chest, flat bench, pull ups, dumbbell press, rows, dumbbell flys, pulldowns, incline press either machine or with dumbbells and another row on one of the machines. I have gotten a bit stronger on some of those, and maybe like I said, I am expecting results to come faster than they will be, who knows.

But like the kid who works there said, I think I may not be doing enough different exercises, and changing it up enough, and probably not pushing myself enough. Any advice on what I could try different? Sorry for the long post.

I'm by no means an expert, but I'd almost say you're doing too many exercises. Leg presses and squats? Why on earth?

Anyhow, rather than worrying about that, some other data on your progress might help. Have you done any measuring of things like waist, hips, upper arms, chest, etc.? Have you noticed any change in the fit of your clothing, e.g., tighter around the neck or chest or hips? Have you been able to increase the number and/or weight of your lifts and to what extent? Conversely, do you feel like anything has gotten weaker or, more to the point, have you stagnated or had to drop reps/weight from any exercises? Do you do any cardio, either at the gym or for leisure or whatever?

Additionally, what have you been eating in terms of calories and macros? Do you know? If you want to put on weight, even pure muscle weight, you have to eat more than you burn. If you've put on 10-12 lbs., that's obviously happened, and even if 80% of that is fat, it still means you added muscle and, if the fat is a problem, you can cut that off later.

Picked up Vitamin C by the way Path; Will let you know how it goes next time I get an iron check/attempt to give blood

hmm my gym is a tiny one part of a resort lol. Maybe I'll go up to our real gym someday.

Side question my pecs look like ***specifically the upper part so if I was reading right I should focus on more inclined presses to balance out my upper pec to match my lower? Hope that made sense lol

Well I'm no expert either, so doing leg press and squats seems normal to me, since my cousin does that too, did it tonight, and he can deadlift 500lbs.

As for measuring body parts, no, I really never thought about doing that. I mean I've noticed my arms and chest are a little bigger, even had a few people say the same thing to me at the gym, so I've made gains. I guess possibly my shorts have gotten a little bit tighter, but I measured my waist, and its 29" which is probably about whats it's always been since I wear 31 in pant size and that's just slightly loose to be comfortable.

As for adding weight/reps, yeah, I have been. For example, I could barely do 95lbs on the flat bench, now last time I did it, I did 135 for 6 reps, not great or anything, but an improvement since I started. I maxed 155lbs, but that was like a month ago, haven't tried since. And for rows, I think I started at 70lbs, and am up to 130lbs, and can usually get 8-10, and other exercises as well, I have upped the weight since I started.

As for weaker, no, I don't think so. Maybe when I do the trapbar dead lift, it seems like I am going nowhere fast on that. Like today I barely managed to get 10 reps with 45's on, but I did take like a week off so maybe it was just from that. But last time I did squats, I did 185lbs for 4, and today did 5, and 135lbs seemed easier since I started with that before going higher.

And for calorie intake, I really don't count them. I just eat what I can. I am laid off right now so I can't afford to eat good, but I try to eat 3 times a day. And I really don't think any, or much of the weight I've gained is fat, since I am still pretty thin.

EDIT: And according to an online body fat % calc, my body fat is 11%. Not exactly official, but it's an idea of what it really is.

Just for curiosity's sake, what calculator did you use for BF%?

Men have this neat little trick. For a rather wide range of BF%, it doesn't really show. It comes with a price, though, in that it drives bodybuilders crazy. Of the top of my head, I think the range is something like 8-16%, but I could be rather far off, so don't quote it.

Either way, putting on a couple pounds of fat and a potential point or three of BF% won't necessarily make you appear much less thin unless you're someone like my ex-boyfriend. Three months of me home-cooking meals for him (instead of him picking at some frozen and re-heated crap) and he put on 10 lbs. and started to get whiny about having a little bit of a chin and the barest shadow of a belly.

It was this one. http://www.healthyforms.com/helpful-tools/body-fat-percentage.php

Again, not exactly legit, but still an idea. Says the ideal is between 8-20% for men my age(30).

I wouldn't even count that as idea or ballpark;

I just put my stats from this picture; (height, weight, waist); and it quoted me at 15%

For my own edification, Tiger, give this one a try and tell me what it suggests (I have reasonable hope it's a decent estimate based on the source): Navy Body Fat Percentage

Still within the ideal range lol. But the whole point of my post was more about exercises, and getting bigger/stronger, and lack of a different exercises I am missing, not about if I am fat or not. I was mainly just looking for some advice on what I can/should be doing.

Don't have any tape on hand (for current) and don't have those measurements from the time that pic was taken. Will give it a shot when I can though; curious for what it says about my current body

Results:
According to your measurements of a 30 inches waist and height of 5' 11" your body fat percentage is estimated to be 9.70 %. This method is not as accurate as a water displacement test, but is usually within 1-3%. Some people with an especially small waist may have a negative number. If you carry all your extra weight around your middle you may have an elevated percentage. Please note that this middle weight is a high risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The waist to hip ratio calculator can give you more information.

If you want to focus on strength, you should do a strength training program. Your cousin has you doing a bunch of unnecessary stuff that's effectively slowing you down, since it's taking up time that could be spent actually getting stronger. ie, if you're doing leg presses, that's time lost that you could have used for more squatting.

Pick one of the tried and true strength training programs, eat lots of food, sleep a lot, and you'll see results far faster than what you've been experiencing.

Here are a some, in the order that I'd recommend:
Greyskull LP
Starting Strength (or PPST lower on the page)
Bill Starr's 5x5
Wendler's 5/3/1 Beginner variation
Strong Lifts 5x5

Enjoy the speedy gains while they last. Underweight dudes pack on muscle at above average rates.

Well those look promising, however those are intended for 3 days a week, and we go 5 days a week, so I wouldn't really know how to work something in on the other 2 days...

You are supposed to be resting on the other days.

The links Sujii linked are good ones. I did 5x5 legs for a while to build up strength. I like a combination of barbell squats and barbell front squats I alternate them for variety.

Like today was my 5x5 leg day:

5x5 Front Squats
5x5 One Legged Hack Squats
5x5 Wide-Stance Incline Leg Press
8x5 Calf-Presses on Incline Leg Press Machine
8x5 Seated Calf-Presses

As far as bench...I hate the bench press personally. My chest developed strength/size so much better with dumbbells.

EDIT: Everyone's body is different particularly if you're at different fitness levels. So your recovery rates may also be different. My friend has started coming with me to the gym and doing my workout routine. But I've even told him his body parts may recover at faster/slower rates than mine

Well that's why we do legs Sunday, then again on Thursday, so that is 4 days in between doing legs. Same with chest/back, Monday, then again on Friday, so 4 days in between. Arms we do once a week, but of couse you still sort of work on arms when doing chest and I guess some back? So 4 days in between is enough rest I would think?

Try high weight low reps. Try light weight high reps. Find the range that works for you. My back grows from low reps while my quads grow from high reps. Your new and it will take time.

Right now I am doing 6 days a week. 3 heavy and hard, 3 light and fast. But I would not advise this to just anyone. Got a few photoshoots coming up.

Is there any truth to the muscle fiber test(fast twitch vs slow twitch) using 1RM? I'm curious. I've never done the test before but was reading about it on bodybuilding forums.

I think so. Now that I am back to competeing again in the off season I look for things that work . I have tried it and found some truth to it. Its tough for new guys with all the broscience out there

I typically do the row like in the pic. But I've seen some guys use the v-bar and place it under the barbell. Is there a difference in targeted muscles? I can't find anything on google or bodybuilding forums.

I use 2 different grips. A wide/reverse grip for outer back and a close/v grip for inner back. Since I have been doing this I have got thickness and shape.

Since I was in about 4th grade the Ultimate Warrior was always my idol. Yes I have been teased forever about it, but whatevs. A couple years ago I stumbled upon this little video and the advice given in it was so solid and spoke to me personally that it really changed the way I was living my life. It has repeatedly inspired me to get back into shape and changed the way I decide what to do every day. I often steal advice that heard from this and give it to other people especially those beginning their fitness journey. It's a great listen. I recommend this to anyone. You cannot go wrong with the direction he gave in this video.

Don't listen to the overly common belief in "overtraining your muscles" or doing too much. That's generally an excuse for people who don't want to push themselves.

Work out til failure, and when the body can't push itself any longer, it will tell you.

Overtraining is not letting your muscles get rest; not "Don't hit them hard while you're in the gym."

aka don't be a dumbass and go all out on chest 3 days in a row

What's the running opinion in this forum about simultaneously building a bit of muscle and shedding fat at the same time?