help

[spacemonkey]

I have been trying to get this right. I am new to weight training and I would like some advice on my current routine. Please help any and all suggestions would be most appreciated.


Monday

Squats 4/8

Bench press 4/8

Incline press 4/8

Shoulder press 4/8

Dips 4/8

Tuesday

3 Mile Run

leg ups 3/15

crunches 3/25

Decline twists 3/25

Wednesday

Dead Lift 4/8

Lat Pulldown 4/8

Lat Pulldown 4/8

Lateral Raise 4/8

[David Lees]

What are your goals with the weight training? Bodybuilding? Building overall strength? Or just to improve your overall physique?

[spacemonkey]

what I am trying to accomplish is gain real lean muscle. then once that is done i would like to make it look nice and cut up. as of right now I weight aobut 174 I would like to get up to 200lbs of real lean muscle not too sure of whatmy body fat % is i will be getting that checked out soon.

[David Lees]

Stick woith basic compound movments like Bench press, squats, deadlifts, shoulder press etc. seems like you have a decent grasp on the training aspect, but I would limit the amount of cardio you do. Also, make sure you are getting enough protein and eating every 2.5 to 3 hours.

[spacemonkey]

well as far as my protein in take I do two shakes pre workout is 50G and post workout is 125g from what i understand it should be 1 gram to every pound of bodyweight. although i am kinda sceptical about my amino acids alot of people are saying that it is better to take it in a powder form as aposed to pill form. Right now i am taking the gnc bcaa 1800 at the recomended amount of six pills about a half hour prior to training.
L-Leucine 900.00 mg

L-Isoleucine 630.00 mg

L-Valine 270.00 mg
i have heard that xtend and excell might be better products


as for protein i take isopure zero

[Cpl_Doug0351]

Guessing your back day has a typo with pulldowns twice. Make sure you include a horizontal row ie bent over barbell rows, t-bar rows, hammer stregth mid row, or a dumbbell row. Are you doing barbell bicep curls ? I would if I were you. Otherwise sound program. I always have my guys do pullovers as well off the bat. Its an often overlooked exercise that is actually considered by many to be the squat for the upper body. Chill on the cardio bc if you want to maximize muscle cardio is going to take away from your recovery. Good luck !!! PM if you like
Doug

[spacemonkey]

excellent i will take your advice. although i am curious if i cut back my cardio what distance should i do? and What is the best times to run

[Cpl_Doug0351]

If you truly enjoy running then have fun and don't stop. Its not necessarily about distance its more about your heart rate and the duration of your cardio activity. If you do high intensity cardio(generally speaking) for more than 20 minutes your body will begin to break down proteins to be used as fuel. This is a bodybuilding no-no of course because if you don't have adequate amounts of amino acids in your bloodstream you will break down muscle tissue to continue such aerobic activities. Secondly you can only handle so much "stress". Training is a stress. A positive stress, but a stress nonetheless. Cardio would be an additional stress to your system which may compromise your recovery. I'm speaking in general terms here, each individual has different recovery abilities as well as stress tolerance. Bottom line: Do what makes you happy, if you want to maximize muscular gains, kill the cardio for now or keep it less than 20 mins duration.

[spacemonkey]

well in that case running is not something that i love. I can however do without it. for the most part i guess the only reason i was doing the cardio so hardcore was that up till like four months ago i was a smoker. my thinking was that the more cardio i do the beter it was for meto hopefully rebuild my lungs

[killinweights]

if youre going to try and gain mass i would suggest a more specific training regimen hitting each bodypart on its own day max 2 per day and not necessarily limiting cardio but not going balls out. also as far as diet along with plenty of protein make sure youre getting your healthy fats and enough carbs to keep you energized throughout the day, especially through your training

[silverbackn]

If you are wanting to gain 26 pounds then you will have to taper way down on the cardio and eat a ton. Eat quality food and eat it often.

[spacemonkey]

well thanks for all of the good advice.Now i have a great idea of how to train. So i guess the only thing left is to create a solid diet plan. i wil post a first draft latter today.

[Toddbz]

You also may want to preform some type of cardio more than one day/week. Not saying go balls to the wall every time, but to keep the positive attributes of cardio going, perhaps try 3 sessions spaced throughout the week. Just don't go breathless.
Also to gain lean muscle you must train hard. Eating a calorie surplus will of course make you gain weight, but to gain muscle you must work those muscles, not just burn calories. One of the most time consuming things is to find a program that works for you. But as a beginner you have an advantage to do simple movements with maximum effect. You at this point really don't need to do any wild workout routines. You'll get results from just about anything.
I used to be a distance runner, and within the last year switched to BB. So take it easy on the cardio. And remember supplements are just that. A supplement to a sound whole food diet. Not a substitute.
Happy growing.